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MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY 


BY 

SOLOMON  BULKLEY  GRIFFIN 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    FRANKLIN    SQUARE 


Copyright,  1886,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


AM  rigMs  reserved. 


PREFACE. 


The  ■writer  of  the  following  pages,  whose  contents  ap- 
peared in  a  series  of  letters  to  The  Springfield  JRepuhlican, 
lays  no  claim  to  having  prepared  a  guide-book,  a  history, 
or  an  exhaustive  treatise.  He  has  aimed  to  deal  fairly, 
and  in  a  representative  way,  with  Mexico  as  she  is ;  to  ex- 
hibit the  country,  the  climate,  the  people,  their  politics, 
their  life,  and  the  national  outlook,  exactly  as  they  all 
united  to  impress  an  unprejudiced  observer  from  the  United 
States.  The  deep  human  interests,  the  problems  of  society 
and  government,  the  conditions  that  surround  business,  the 
possibilities  for  the  railroads,  the  charms  of  scenery  and 
phases  of  a  romantic  and  ancient  civilization — these  are 
all  treated  from  the  standpoint  of  American  citizenship. 
If  the  result  shall  happily  be  to  give  the  reader  a  more  in- 
telligent conception  of  our  southern  sister  republic,  and  to 
invoke  patience  and  charity  in  judging  of  the  questions 
that  must  long  vex  the  statesmanship  of  Mexico,  the  pur- 
pose of  this  little  volume  will  have  been  abundantly  ac- 
complished. 

The  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  special  obliga- 
tion to  Frederic  R.  Guernsey,  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 

.Springfikld,  Mass. 


i 


CONTENTS. 


CnArTEB  TAOB 

I.  From  New  York  to  Mexico 1 

II.  Mexico,  Past  and  Present 17 

III.  The  Politics  of  the  Country 27 

IV.  Agriculture  and  the  Railroads 40 

V.  Taxation,  Mining,  and  IMills 58 

VI.  The  City  op  3Iexico 71 

VII.  Street  Scenes  and  Suggestions 89 

VIII.  A  Well-ordered  Capital 105 

IX.  Journalism  and  Diplomacy 114 

X.  A  Bull-fight  at  Toluca 123 

XI.  The  Young  Men  in  Politics 135 

XII.  "  The  Italy  OF  America  " 140 

XIII.  A  Run  into  the  Hot  Country 158 

XIV.  Mexico's  Paintings  and  Statues 1G8 

XV.  Some  Features  of  City  Life 182 

XVI.  The  Soclety  of  the  Capital 102 

XVII.  Glimpses  of  Society  at  Home 201 

XVIII.  Mexico's  Religious  Outlook 212 

XIX.  Chapultepec  and  its  Memories 227 

XX.  Our  Share  in  Mexico's  Future 245 


I 


tl 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAQE 

Mxp  OF  :Mexico Fi-ontispicce 

Mexican  Customhouse  Guard 11 

President  Porfirio  Diaz 33 

Traxscontinextal  Profile  of  ^Mexico 42 

In  Tierra  Caliente 43 

A  Rural  "Diligekcia" 49 

The  Railroad  System  of  Mexico 53 

popocatapetl '^3 

Entirons  OP  THE  City  of  Mexico 77 

Interior  Courtyard  of  Mexican  Residence.    ...    83 
A  Flower  and  Beauty  Snow  in  the  Zocalo     ...    87 

A  Gldipse  of  the  Poor  Quarter 83 

Characteristic  Shop-front 9G 

Mexican  Soldier  on  Guard 101 

Salvator  Dla.z  Miron 140 

Old  Spanish  Palace  in  the  Calle  de  Jesus     .    .    .147 

A  Typical  House-front 148 

Porcelain  House  in  San  Francisco  Street  .    .    .    .149 

Las  Casas  Protecting  the  Aztecs 173 

The  Monument  to  Coloibus  and  Dri\t3  to  Chapul- 

tepec 179 

A  Mexicvn  Col-rtship 207 

Relation  of  the  Lakes  to  the  City 229 

The  Great  Cathedral  of  Mexico 233 

The  Gigantic  Spanish  Drainage  Cut 348 


MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 


CUArXER  I. 

FROM    NEW    YORK    TO    MEXICO. 


From  Chicago  to  the  city  of  Mexico 
Continental  Railroad  jj^^  ^^   j^.^^  roadway  about  throe  thou- 

Building.  •'       _  _ 

sand  miles  long.  Its  existence  illustrates 
something  of  what  has  been  accouiplishcd  in  developing 
the  resources  of  the  United  States  since  Samuel  Bowles 
made  his  trip  "Across  the  Continent"  with  Schuyler  Colfax 
in  18G5.  Then  the  Union  Pacific  road  was  just  beginning 
to  feel  its  pioneer  way  towards  the  setting  sun  and  into 
the  comparatively  unknown  West.  It  was  a  vast  national 
enterprise,  the  great  work  of  peace  to  follow  the  war, 
whose  progress  was  a  marvel ;  and  the  undertaking  chained 
the  attention  of  the  continent.  But  the  longing  with 
which  the  advance  of  quick  transit  was  then  looked  for 
can  never  be  paralleled  in  the  United  States,  and  the  con- 
trast with  to-day  is  most  impressive. 

Now  railways  net  the  country  like  the  web  of  an  indus- 
trious spider.     The  Northern  Pacific,  the  Union  and  Cen- 
tral Pacific,  the  Southern  Pacific,  and  the  Atlantic  and  Pa- 
cific roads  are  in  operation — each  with  connecting  lines 
1 


2  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

that  slash  the  country  in  all  directions — and  Canada,  also, 
has  her  transcontinental  railway.  To  all  these  must  be 
added  this  link  between  the  neighboring  North  American 
republics,  an  achievement  which  contributes  much  to  the 
glory  of  Boston  as  a  financial  centre. 

The  citizen  of  some  less  favored  spot  may  on  occasion 
indulge  in  good-humored  raillery  over  that  provincialism 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  Hub  of  the  Universe ;  but 
he  will  not  forget  at  the  same  time  that  the  conservatism  of 
State  Street  lias  made  it  a  reservoir  of  capital  upon  Avhich 
the  growing  and  often  presumptuously  intolerant  West  has 
made  the  most  liberal  drafts.  And  the  new  West  has  not 
yet  worn  out  its  welcome,  or  visibly  lowered  the  supply  of 
the  wherewithal  needed  to  build  railroads  and  to  found  and 
develop  cities  and  counties  and  states.  The  influence  of 
Boston  is  something  to  be  proud  of  on  the  material  side, 
no  less  than  are  those  literary  and  social  features  that  will 
go  without  any  new  rehearsal  here.  Her  capitalists  pushed 
forward  the  Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy,  the  Atchi- 
son, Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe,  and  the  Mexican  Central  rail- 
roads, which  form  the  route  over  which  the  land  tourist 
reaches  Mexico.  Our  general  observation  is  further  illus- 
trated by  the  fact  that  Boston  men  are  also  leading  spirits 
in  the  management  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  the  Union  Pa- 
cific, and  the  Oregon  Navigation  Company.  In  fact,  capital 
from  the  chief  city  of  Massachusetts  goes  far  afield  now, 
as  it  used  to  cross  the  seas  in  the  East  Indian  and  China 
and  South  American  trade,  and  it  adventures  still  under 
trained  and  able  pilots  and  captains. 


FROM   NEW   YORK   TO   MEXICO.  3 

11. 

For  the  Easterner  the  West  includes 
1  ag     °    '  8     -  (;;[|i(,jjo.Q  j^gt  jjg  j^;  usQ^  to  do,  but  such  a 

view  only  marks  the  "freshness"  of  hina 
■who  holds  it.  Illinois  is  the  old  "West  now,  the  seat  of  a 
comparatively  ancient  civilization,  distant  only  a  day  and  a 
night  from  New  York ;  and  membership  in  the  old  set- 
tlers' association  entitles  one  to  the  same  veneration  that 
young  people  paid  to  the  survivors  of  the  Revolution  be- 
fore the  civil  war  gave  us  a  new  and  greater  generation  of 
heroes. 

But  this  largest  city  of  the  AVest  impresses  one  still 
with  more  of  promise  than  fulfilment,  astonishing  as  her 
growth  has  been.  It  is  the  fashion  among  newspapers  to 
cavil  at  Chicago,  but  the  young  giant  of  the  prairies  is 
only  in  the  first  flush  of  youth — the  very  dawn  of  mighty 
manhood.  There  will  be  method  and  solidity  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  city  from  this  point,  in  proof  of  which 
one. can  look  at  the  grouping  of  the  magnificent  public 
buildings  that  will,  after  a  time,  be  nowhere  surpassed  in 
the  Union.  In  her  residences  Chicago  has  come  to  lead 
all  the  American  cities,  with  possibly  the  exception  of 
W.-ushington.  Her  rich  men  have  built  many  palaces, 
some  of  them  most  offensively  pretentious,  but  the  pre- 
vailing architecture  is  not  unattractive,  and  much  of  it  is 
distinctly  meritorious.  The  best  houses  are  constructed 
for  a  future,  though  the  descendants  of  the  builders  m.iy 
not  occupy  them  ;  and  granite,  marble,  brown,  gray,  and 
green  stone,  and  brick  are  piled  up  in  many  splendid  forms. 
The  variety  of  architecture  employed  marks  a  satisfactory 
advance  over  New  York  conventionalism,  and  the  prim 
brown-stone  front   that  stands  f-titlly  up  to   its  neighbor 


4  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

is  going  out  of  fasliion.  The  new  Louses  are  set  in  the 
midst  of  grass  plots,  and  each  has  been  given  a  pleasing 
individuality  and  independence. 

We  begin  to  find  in  Chicago  a  chano;e  of  air — that  the 
young  men  are  at  the  front.  The  leaders  of  fifty  and  sixty 
years  old  are  accustomed  to  step  aside  and  let  younger 
hands  bear  the  burden  of  the  load.  It  is  a  division  of 
labor  that  youth  applauds,  and  by  such  withdrawals  some- 
thing is  conceded  to  the  need  for  the  conservation  of  hu- 
man life  which  is  so  universally  ignored  in  American  soci- 
ety. The  thrill,  the  push,  the  resistless  vigor  of  an  intense 
first  outpouring  of  energy  mark  every  enterprise,  and  make 
up  the  very  atmosphere  of  business.  No  need  here  to  re- 
peat that  weary  Eastern  plaint — Give  the  young  man  a 
chance  !  His  is  the  power  by  right  of  public  demand  in 
the  West. 

III. 

In  going  to  Mexico  we  cut  across  Illi- 

Eandom    Notes    of        •       nj.  •  j     t^-  ii  „ 

the  West  "*^^^'   ■'^lissoun,    and    Kansas,    cross    the 

southeastern  corner  of  Colorado,  pass 
down  through  the  centre  of  New  Mexico,  and  touch  the 
extreme  western  tip  of  Texas  at  El  Paso.  Then  we  run 
down  over  the  table-lands  of  Mexico.  With  good  connec- 
tions the  city  of  Mexico  is  distant  a  week  from  New  York. 
From  Chicago  to  Kansas  City  consumes  from  12.30 
P.M.  until  9  A.M.  of  the  following  day.  Journeying  over 
the  Chicago,  Burlington,  and  Quincy  Railroad  one  is  not 
overwhelmed  with  admiration  for  what  is  exhibited  by  the 
way.  Even  in  Illinois  the  newness  is  cheap  and  even  pain- 
ful— the  churches  and  school-houses  are  all  after  the  same 
ugly  models — yet  the  villages  and  cities  are  entitled  to  full 
respect  as  pioneer  work,  and  they  are  impressive  as  the 
sure  evidences  of  an  established  prosperity  that  is  rearing 


FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  MEXICO.  6 

its  own  cnilurinof  monuments.  The  best  is  crude  enouffli 
at  present — Dickens  told  of  it  all  not  very  untruly  in  his 
"American  Notes" — but,  withal,  the  outlook  is  grand  be- 
yond words  when  we  look  forward  to  the  time  when  this 
heart  of  the  continent  shall  beat  with  full  life,  and  teem 
with  the  vitality  of  perfect  maturity. 

Down  from  Kansas  City  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa 
Fe  road  rolls  out  one  thousand  and  fifty  miles  to  the  Texan 
border.  An  hour  between  trains  admits  of  a  trip  in  the 
cable  cars  up  and  down  the  abrupt  bluffs  that  gully  that 
most  western  city  of  Missouri,  where  one  hundred  thou- 
sand people  have  been  packed  into  a  spot  adapted  for  ten 
thousand.  The  cable  system  appears  to  work  perfectly, 
and  the  people  are  accommodated  for  the  present;  but  in 
time  ecouomy  and  convenience  will  harness  electricity  to 
this  local  problem.  Already  the  Daft  system  is  doing  a 
work  much  like  this  in  Baltimore,  for  the  infancy  of  elec- 
trical development  is  about  over. 

The  ride  from  Kansas  City  to  El  Paso,  Texas,  occu- 
pies from  Wednesday  at  10.40  a.m.  to  3  p.m.  on  Friday. 
Through  Kansas  there  is  displayed  a  beautiful  panorama 
of  cultivated  farms,  and  a  community  life  that  is  unmis- 
takably from  New  England.  It  is  worth  while  to  notice 
the  universal  reign  of  the  local  newspaper  through  this  re- 
gion that  is  attracting  rather  more  than  its  share  of  set- 
tlers. The  Lawrence  Journal,  Topeka  Capital,  Emporia 
News,  and  Dodge  City  Globe — these  are  a  few  of  the  dai- 
lies that  appear  along  the  way,  and  each  hamlet  is  proud 
of  its  weekly  trumpet  of  fame.  These  sheets  are  full  of 
the  local  color,  for  home-doings  furnish  their  chief  feature. 
The  editor  understands  his  mission  so  well  that  none  need 
tell  him  in  what  the  primary  oflice  of  the  home  journal 
consists — he  sees  and  fills  it  with  intelligence  and  industr}'. 


6  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  pretentious  and  bombastic  period  of  frontier  journal- 
ism is  largely  succeeded  by  something  sensible  and  even 
strong.  In  the  passing  glimpses  given  of  many  towns  the 
office  of  the  newspaper  bore  its  conspicuous  position  and 
sign  on  the  principal  street.  In  one  case  the  young  editor 
niigbt  have  been  seen  gazing  down  the  street  from  the  out- 
side stairs  leading  to  his  lofty  sanctum.  One  fancied  him 
the  exiled  graduate  of  an  Eastern  college,  to  whom  the 
passing  of  these  modern  packages  of  outside  life,  that 
whizzed  in  and  away  over  the  shining  rails,  were  a  tanta- 
lizing mockery.  On  the  chill  winter  landscape  this  strag- 
gling and  slovenly  yet  most  ambitious  town  seemed  like  a 
blot.  It  is  possible  that  a  depressing  impression  of  this 
sort  intrudes  at  times,  unbidden,  as  the  editor  weekly  pict- 
/  ures  a  glowing  future  for  Blankville.  A  place  like  this 
s  readily  yields  the  dull  sadness  which  colored  Mr.  Howe's 
:  "  Story  of  a  Country  Town." 

There  is  little  to  vary  the  monotony  of  the  journey  ex- 
cept meal-time.  At  Kansas  City  we  passed  beyond  the 
dining-car,  and  thereafter  to  Mexico  lived  on  the  country 
in  the  old-fashioned  way — twenty-five  minutes  for  break- 
fast, dinner,  and  supper,  the  charge  being  Y5  cents  or 
$1.00,  the  latter  rate  prevailing  on  the  line  of  the 
Mexican  Central.  Timid  and  deliberate  people  are  at 
a  discount  on  such  occasions,  when  the  all-abounding  com- 
mercial traveller  is  the  one  masterly  spirit  of  the  abbrevi- 
ated half-hour.  It  takes  long  practice  to  enable  one  to  bolt 
food  enough  to  sustain  life  in  such  a  tumultuous  ordeal. 
The  soup,  roast  beef,  ham,  and  chicken  are  brought  on 
without  delay  or  formality,  and  every  passenger  pitches  in 
for  number  one. 

Days  rise  and  wane  as  we  speed  along,  and  night  above 
the  limitless  prairie  gives  the  solemn  effect  of  an  expanse 


FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  MEXICO.  7 

of  ocean.  The  faithful  cigar,  abundant  light  literature,  an 
occasional  game  of  cards,  and  the  views  from  the  rear 
coach — these  sum  up  the  resources  that  lie  outside  of  the 
chance  human  companionship  that  is  best  of  all.  The 
stiffness  which  makes  the  railroad  car  at  the  East  a  cave  of 
decorous  gloom  falls  off  as  prairies  stretch  to  the  clouds, 
and  people  embark  for  long  journeys.  Native  kindliness 
finds  a  direct  and  pleasing  expression  ;  fellow-travellers  arc 
more  neighborly  and  friendly  ;  they  act  out  the  warm  im- 
pulses of  genuine  natures.  The  whole  current  of  life  is 
fresher  and  more  honest.  Yet  every  individual  right  is 
recognized  and  scrupulously  respected.  One  puts  off  an 
armor  that  has  been  forged  to  protect  "  society,"  and  is  apt 
to  realize  anew  that  social  intercourse  no  longer  implies  a 
state  of  warfare ;  that  the  coat  of  iron  is  an  absurd  thing, 
and  valuable  only  to  masqueraders. 

IV. 

Most  of  the  passengers  down  to  the 
^Cattle  Business  ^  border  are  interested  in  the  cattle  busi- 
ness, and  the  sum  of  their  conclusions  is 
that  this  industry  has  taken  its  place  as  a  settled  business 
in  which  success  must  depend  on  a  large  capital  and  care- 
ful management.  There  is  money  in  it  still,  and  good  re- 
turns on  investments,  but  the  days  of  fabulous  profits  for 
green  men  are  about  over.  Like  mining,  cattle-raising  has 
been  legitimized,  and  requires  expert  handling  on  a  large 
scale.  Cattle  are  very  prolific  in  New  Mexico,  and  great 
herds  are  driven  from  there  to  develop  and  fatten  in  Mon- 
tana. Occasionally  a  territorial  magnate,  a  judge,  a  colonel, 
or  governor,  steps  on  board  and  enlivens  the  smoking-room 
for  a  few  stations.  He  generally  enters  into  the  cattle-talk 
in  a  way  to  show  where  his  treasure  is,  and  that  his  heart 


8  MEXICO  OF   TO-DAY. 

is  there  also.  We  hear  about  *'  a  pretty  bunch  of  cattle ;" 
"  my  bulls  are  not  pampered,  sir ;  never  fed  'em  a  bit  of 
grain  in  the  world  ;"  "  they  are  all  white-faced  ;"  "  not  all 
thorough-breds,  but  just  as  good,  every  bit ;"  and  so  on. 

Interesting  local  information  also  leaks  out.  It  appears 
that  Santa  Fe  boasts  "the  best  society  of  the  whole  region," 
but  that  Albuquerque  "  has  the  finest  hotel  in  the  territory 
of  New  Mexico,  and  is  foremost  in  enterprise  because  lier 
i.ewspapers  are  the  best."  This  calls  attention  to  the  fact 
that  a  leading  cattle-mau  has  been  laboring  for  a  day  to 
persuade  a  consumptive  eastern  bookseller  to  settle  in  "  our 
town  "  and  start  a  weekly  newspaper.  The  inducements 
held  out  are  a  thousand-dollar  plant,  lots  for  a  house  and 
office,  and  $500  of  guaranteed  advertising;  an  extra  touch 
includes  the  hirino-  of  the  bookseller's  wife  as  the  local 
school-teacher.  It  looked  at  the  moment  as  if  another 
New  Mexican  town  would  have  its  newspaper. 

Through  New  Mexico  one  sees  low  adobe  buildings,  and 
bright  -  blanketed  Zuni  or  Pueblo  Indians,  and  catches 
other  glimpses  of  that  older  life  towards  which  we  arc 
speeding;  that  enlightenment  which  was  ancient  and  pow^- 
erful  when  Columbus  discovered  the  new  world;  and  which 
is  said  to  have  possessed  its  cities,  temples,  and  palaces  for 
at  least  a  thousand  years  when  the  Northmen  touched  the 
northern  coast,  eight  hundred  years  ago. 


V. 

There  is  a  wait  of  three  hours  at  the 

enture  ^^^ 
in  Texas. 


border  Texan  town  of  El  Paso,  a  place 


which  confidently  expects  to  rank  as  the 
Chicago  of  the  Southwest,  and  is  certain  to  be  a  great  dis- 
tributing centre.  Five  railroad  lines  enter  the  town — the 
Southern  Pacific,  Mexican  Central,  Galveston,  Ilarrisburg, 


FROil  XEW  YORK  TO  MEXICO.  9 

and  Saa  Antonio,  the  Texas  and  Pacific,  and  Atcliison, 
Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe  —  and  another  is  promised.  Mr. 
Huntington  engages  to  construct  a  road  to  the  northeast 
which  shall  tap  coal-fields  said  to  be  located  near  ^Yhite 
Oak  Citv — a  most  important  project.  Cheap  coal  is  the 
great  lack  of  Mexico,  and  here  is  one  of  the  many  schemes 
that  promise  to  remedy  the  drawback.  At  present  El  Paso 
boasts  only  about  6000  inhabitants,  but  it  does  a  great  busi- 
ness. The  chief  public  feature  is  a  court-house  in  process 
of  erection  ;  there  is  a  public  square,  daily  newspapers,  sev- 
cnd  hotels,  abundant  saloons,  and  members  of  all  the  learned 
professions  in  profusion. 

The  inhabitants  of  El  Paso  were  to  see,  on  the  evening 
of  our  flying  visit,  the  "greatest  American  actress"  appear 
in  a  play  especially  prepared  to  display  her  transcendent 
abilities.  She  was  a  blonde  of  considerable  personal  charms, 
whose  name  was  lamentably  unfamiliar.  In  visiting  the 
local  bookstore,  a  cowboy  was  discovered  in  the  act  of 
asking  the  amiable  proprietor  for  "a  bottle  of  your  best 
perfumed  hair-oil."  This  was  proof  positive  that  the  act- 
ress had  won  an  admirer  in  her  walk  from  the  depot  to  the 
Grand  Central  Hotel ;  but  the  rude  knight  of  the  clanking 
spurs  established  this  surmise  by  stating  that  "  all  the  boys 
are  going  to-night."  The  golden  star  and  her  disconsolate 
looking  attendants  were  evidently  in  for  two  lucky  nights 
— a  lift  of  which  they  obviously  stood  in  the  most  cry- 
ing need. 

The  United  States  collector  of  customs  at  El  Paso  has 
lately  been  changed,  and  the  democratic  official  is  conduct- 
ing a  sharp  war  on  smuggling.  Some  leading  citizens  are 
concerned  in  recent  developments,  and  they  arc  finding 
their  irregularities  expensive.  About  one  hundred  officials 
guard  the  Mexican  side  of  the  Rio  Grande  River,  and  our 
1* 


10  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

border  is  patrolled  by  some  twenty-five  inspectors.  The 
amount  of  illicit  traffic  between  the  two  republics  is  said 
to  be  enormous,  and  it  is  likely  to  continue  so,  though  the 
restraining  hand  of  the  United  States  government  is,  just 
now,  pretty  sharply  felt. 

VI. 

Half  a  mile  over  the  river  is  Paso  del 
"^  th^Border"^ ""  Nortc,  the  starting-point  of  the  Mexican 
Central.  Our  train  leaves  from  the  Texas 
side,  and  on  reaching  Mexican  soil  the  custom-house  official, 
in  his  gaudy  sombrero,  discharges  his  duty  most  politely. 
The  examination  of  handbags  is  formal  and  expeditious ; 
and  when  trunks  are  searched  no  unreasonable  objections 
are  raised.  But  some  unfortunates  buy  a  bit  of  experience 
in  railroading.  Those  who  come  on  through  tickets  are 
allowed  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  baggage,  but  such 
as  have  been  unwise  enough  to  purchase  passage  on  the 
spot  are  restricted  to  thirty-five  pounds,  and  one  pilgrim 
stranger  pays  out  $6.50  extra  on  a  modest  trunk  that  is 
checked  for  the  city  of  Mexico.  A  money-changer  in  the 
depot  stands  ready  to  turn  our  greenbacks  into  the  familiar 
silver  dollars  of  the  country,  reckoned  at  eighty-five  cents ; 
and  pockets  and  bags  bulge  and  grow  heavy  under  the 
transfer. 

Here,  too,  the  old-world  distinction  among  travellers  ap- 
pears. The  Pullman  coach  is  more  palatial  beside  its  fel- 
lows here  than  up  North ;  then  comes  the  first-class  car, 
furnished  with  cane  seats  and  much  plainer  in  its  interior 
work  than  an  ordinary  car  in  the  States;  the  second-class 
offers  unrelieved  hard-wood  seats,  and  more  severe  plain- 
ness; while  the  third-class  contains  long  benches  that 
line  its  sides  and  run   down  the  centre ;  conveyances  to 


MEXirAN   CrSTOM-nOrsE   GUARD. 


FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  MEXICO.        13 

which  a  Bowery  horse-car  in  New  York  would  seem  soft 
luxury. 

The  entire  chaniic  of  customs  and  of  language  has  a 
temporarily  depressing  effect  on  the  traveller,  though  the 
train  hands  arc  Americans.  The  new  order  is  rudely  em- 
phasized when  one  is  routed  out  at  six  o'clock  the  next 
morning  to  prepare  for  breakfast,  and  is  informed  that 
such  is  the  custom  of  the  country.  'Tis  a  dismal  begin- 
ning, though  the  early  start  is  an  obvious  necessity  of  this 
southern  climate,  where  business  must  be  transacted  in  the 
cool  of  the  day.  The  railroad  maintains  eating-houses 
along  the  way  where  the  food  is  abundant  and  wholesome, 
though  attended  with  an  inevitable  lack  of  anything  like 
dainty  cooking  or  service. 

We  pass  down  through  the  states  of  Chihuahua,  Duran- 
go,  Zacatecas,  Aguascalientes,  Jalisco,  Guanajuato,  Qucre- 
taro,  and  llidalgo — eight  states  of  the  twenty-seven — and 
enter  the  federal  district  and  the  ancient  capital,  a  distance 
of  some  1250  miles  out  of  the  about  1500  that  make  up 
the  length  of  Mexico. 

This  is  the  table-land,  from  6000  to  8000  feet  above  sea- 
level,  the  highland  walled  between  the  spurs  of  the  Cor- 
dillera— a  broad,  brown  expanse  stretching  to  the  distant 
treeless  and  forbidding  mountains.  The  landscape  is  prac- 
tically unrelieved  for  750  miles  to  the  city  of  Zacatecas, 
and  lack  of  water  is  its  most  impressive  feature ;  a^scat- 
tercd  growth  of  cactus,  clumps  of  mesquit-bushes,  knots  of 
grass  sprinkling  tiie  sand,  cottonwood-trees  at  rare  inter- 
vals by  the  watercourses,  and  occasionally  a  Mexican  vil- 
lage— these  arc  the  wayside  incidents. 


14  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

VII. 

Features  of  the  Con«.     ^^  ^^  ^  S^^^^^S   ^«gi°"  ^""O™   ^^^'>  ^^^^ 
try,  and  Notable  cit-  Norte  to  Chihuahua,  with  some  silver- 

'®^"  mining  districts  lying  distant  ten  to  one 

hundred  miles  from  the  railroad  on  either  side.  Below 
that  point  cactus  shrubs  soon  become  almost  tropical  trees, 
and  the  prickly  pear  and  maguey  plant — the  latter  used  in 
making  pulque,  the  national  tipple— that  begin  to  prevail 
are  familiar  to  the  eye,  througli  the  small  editions  that  ap- 
pear in  all  collections  of  house-plants.  Farther  down  the 
prickly  pear  is  trained  into  a  hedge  that  possesses  some 
advantages  over  the  Yankee  barbed  wire  that  is  in  univer- 
sal use  at  the  North,  and  may  now  be  discovered  on  some 
well-kept  Mexican  ranches.  Wherever  water  is  available 
for  agriculture  these  highlands  yield  great  crops ;  corn 
grows  abundantly,  as  do  all  grains  and  cotton,  and  great 
fields  of  barley  now  line  the  eartli  with  pleasant  strips  of 
green.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Galera  is  a  broad  and  sur- 
passingly rich  valley  irrigated  from  a  never- failing  lake 
supply. 

Zacatecas  is  a  famously  rich  mining  region.  The  curves 
and  climbing  qualities  of  the  Mexican  Central  at  this  point 
are  something  remarkable,  and  trains  pass  just  above  the 
city  of  75,000  people  by  winding  around  the  lulls  that  en- 
compass it.  The  road  here  was  built  with  earth  carried  on 
the  backs  of  the  peons  or  native  peasantry,  who  did  not 
take  kindly  to  American  methods.  A  most  richly  adorned 
cathedral  is  the  boast  of  the  place,  and  it  is  a  magnificent 
relic  of  the  days  of  priest  rule,  when  12^  cents  was  levied 
on  every  $8  of  ore  taken  from  the  mines  ;  there  is  an 
$800,000  cathedral  back  at  Chihuahua,  also  built  from  this 
tax  ;  and  in  every  considerable  town  the  Church  has  reared 


FROM  NEW  YORK  TO  MEXICO.         15 

noble  arcliltecture  that  has  been  sequestered  by  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Qiierotaro  (Ka-ret'-a-ro)  appeals  to  the  traveller  whose 
preliminary  knowledge  of  Mexico  may  have  been  largely 
gleaned  in  newspaper  reading,  lie  remembers  that  here 
Maximilian  was  shot.  But  the  city  makes  other  claims  on 
the  attention.  It  somewhat  resembles  Ilavana,  with  wind- 
ing, narrow  streets,  houses  high  and  variegated  in  color, 
and  little  plazas  filled  with  tropical  plants;  while  the  aque- 
duct, some  of  whose  arches  are  ninety  feet  high,  is  the 
most  splendid  structure  of  the  kind  in  the  country,  sur- 
passing even  the  massive  masonry  reared  in  the  federal 
capital.  Here,  too,  in  1848,  the  Mexican  Congress  ratified 
the  treaty  of  peace  with  the  United  States.  But  it  is 
thinking  of  Maximilian  that  the  tourist  will  enter  the  city, 
and  that  sad  figure  will  linger  in  his  mind  as  he  leaves  it. 
For  as  the  train  passes  Queretaro,  on  the  crest  of  the  low 
and  rocky  "Hill  of  the  Bells"  will  be  noted  the  three 
black  crosses  that  mark  the  spot  where  the  emperor  and 
his  faithful  generals,  Mejia  and  Miramon,  were  shot.  They 
looked  out,  on  that  June  morning  in  1867,  over  a  lovely 
valley  in  which  this  city  of  30,000  inhabitants  is  planted. 

A  hundred  miles  nearer  to  tlie  city  of  Mexico,  too,  is  the 
town  of  Tula,  the  ancient  Toltec  capital,  rich  in  ruins  and 
antiquities  that  establish  the  high  civilization  of  a  vanished 
people. 

Still  southward  the  horizon  widens  until  only  the  dark- 
blue  outlines  of  distant  mountains  confine  the  eye.  Over 
all  Mexico  the  patient  ass  plays  liis  most  useful  part  in  the 
antiquated  methods  that  are  still  in  vogue.  As  the  trains 
roll  up  to  all  stations  troops  of  peons,  men,  women,  and 
children,  bearing  fruits  or  food,  eagerly  display  their  wares 
and  press  thfin  upon  the  trnvcllors.     'I'iiis  civilization  wears 


16  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

an  Eastern  aspect,  and  beggars  in  force  are  not  wanting  to 
fill  in  the  picture.  The  feelings  of  compassionate  repul- 
sion which  the  lame,  the  halt,  and  the  blind,  the  deformed 
and  aged  in  all  stages  of  decay,  inspire  as  they  appear  on 
undress  parade,  are  a  novel  experience  in  American  travel, 
but  a  callous  familiarity  with  their  wretchedness  is  speedily 
acquired.  Yet  one  never  gets  away  from  the  sad  under- 
current of  misery  that  always  qualifies  picturesque  Mexico. 
These  December  evenings,  nights,  and  early  mornings  are 
cool,  but  the  heat  of  the  noons  and  afternoons  seems  op- 
pressive and  unseasonable  to  those  who  have  just  seen  snow 
in  Kansas.  "We  are  in  the  land  of  bright  shawls  and  blank- 
ets, serapes,  and  the  natural  fitness  of  these  wraps  is  evi- 
dent where  cotton  is  the  garb  of  the  lower  classes,  and 
coats  are  a  discomfort  during  the  heat  of  the  day.  They 
are  worn  at  morning  and  night,  and  fit  the  men  with  natural 
grace  and  the  ease  of  habit.  Train  time  at  the  various 
stops  draws  heavily  on  the  inhabitants,  who  gather  in  force 
in  the  afternoons  about  the  large  depots,  dressed  as  for  a 
festive  event.  The  Mexican  horses  have  been  improved  by 
the  importation  of  foreign  stock,  and  Barnura  shows  no 
sightlier  animals  than  are  grouped  at  every  station  ;  and 
no  Arab  rides  his  steed  with  a  daintier  grace  than  does  the 
average  Mexican  gentleman.  All  day  long  silver  clouds 
lazily  drift  across  a  perfect  sky,  and  not  even  the  most  har- 
ried and  practical  American  can  at  first  resist  the  indolent 
poetry  of  this  strange  life. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MEXICO,  PAST    AND    PRESENT. 
I. 

Mexico  has  a  magnificent  background 

'^to^andKomnSr  "P«"  ^^'^'^^'^  ''^^  ^^^'"y  ^^'^^^^^  ^"^  painted, 
but  the  attempt  to  tell  her  history  in  a 

few  paragraphs  would  bo  only  less  futile  and  elusive  than 
the  proposition  to  "interpret  God  in  thirty-nine  articles." 
Very  interesting  is  Mexico  to  the  lover  of  the  romantic  in 
nature  and  men,  but  far  more  attractive  is  she  to  the  stu- 
dent of  American  life.  Here  the  Spaniards  landed  in  1519, 
or  a  century  before  the  Pilgrims  reached  that  *'  stern  and 
rock-bound  coast" — which  was  not  so  in  fact — about  which 
we  have  all  declaimed.  But  before  that  time  Mexico 
had  become  the  seat  of  a  wonderful  American  civilization. 
Against  the  youthful  memories  of  New  England,  over  which 
libtorical  societies  inform  themselves,  and  which  reach  back 
of  that  famous  "  Welcome,  Englishmen  1"  only  a  little  way 
into  nomadic  savagery,  this  hoary  scat  of  empire  offers  her 
traditions,  that  have  been  said  to  extend  into  the  past  a 
thuusand  years  before  Christ  appeared  in  that  Asiatic  coun- 
try of  which  this  is  the  constant  reminder. 

But  it  is  popular  now  to  discount  all  this,  and  even  to 
impeach  the  work  of  Prescott.  From  the  sixth  century 
Mexico  presents  her  connected  account  of  the  tribes  or 
races  that  rose  and  foil  and  mingled  to  produce  the  domi- 
nant Aztecs  atnl  their  Montezumas,  whom    Cortez   found 


18  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

here,  and  first  of  them  all  are  the  Toltecs,  who  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  Mound-builders  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  valleys.  What  a  field  for  invcstio:ation,  what 
an  absorbing  pursuit  is  here — to  follow  the  Toltecs  south- 
ward, to  identify  one's  self  with  the  original  American  civili- 
zation, to  know  the  story  of  a  continent ! 

So  says  the  young  and  unspoiled  Bohemian  out  of  his 
unvexed  soul,  as  he  declares  with  scorn  that  rich  men  have 
no  capacity  for  skimming  the  cream  off  from  life.  This 
boy,  who  never  tasted  gold  or  measured  his  aims  with  ac- 
cepted standards,  believes  that  riches  shrivel  the  soul  and 
contract  the  life,  and,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  historical 
conquest  fresh  upon  him,  he  actually  despises  men  who  re- 
tire from  arduous  acquisition  in  the  market-place  only  to 
seek  the  Dead-Sea  apples  of  politics,  or  to  chase  that  fickle 
and  unsatisfying  thing  called  "  society."  To  make  what 
other  men  know  of  this  ancient  life  one's  own,  to  tread 
anew  in  old  ways  and  catch  therein  the  color  of  vanished 
things,  to  delve  deeper  than  any  have  yet  done,  to  unearth 
the  hidden  and  the  forgotten,  to  paint  the  romance,  the 
poetry,  the  history,  to  renew  on  paper  or  canvas  the  very 
thing  that  existed — this  is  calculated  to  strike  the  dullest 
imagination  into  a  glow  1  And  truly  men  have  yielded  to 
more  harmful  master-passions  than  this  would  be.  But 
one  needs  money  and  time  wherewith  to  master  the  advan- 
tages with  which  this  country  dazzles  and  woos  every  ad- 
mirer of  the  picturesque. 

II. 

There   could  be  no   more  fascinating 
mots  of  the  Ancient  ^^nployment  for  the  long  evenings  of  the 

Civilization.  r     ./  o  o 

New  England  winter  than  to  study  the 
characteristics  and  story  of  this  sunny  land  as  they  have 


MEXICO,  PAST  AND  PRESENT.  19 

been  told  byilumboldt,  Prcscott,  and  otbcr  writers.  These 
men  are  held  in  bigb  honor  by  the  people  here.  The 
wort  of  the  blind  American  historian,  who  of  conrse  never 
saw  the  country,  is  accepted  as  an  authority  by  the  Mexi- 
cans, and  German  residents  have  placed  a  tablet  on  the 
bouse  which  Uumboldt  occupied.  The  past  is  much  bet- 
ter photographed  in  the  books  than  the  present;  but  mod- 
ern Mexico  the  tourist  can  best  see  for  himself. 

To  call  the  native  Mexicans  Indians  misleads  the  New- 
Englandcr,  who  will  straightway  identify  these  people  with 
those  Indians  in  Buffalo  Bill's  "  Wild  West"  show  that 
slioekcd  Boston  by  giving  a  Sunday  exhibition.  "Whether 
"Wendell  Phillips  gathered  any  material  for  his  lecture  on 
the  "  Lost  Arts  "  from  Mexico  I  do  not  remember,  but  it 
is  certain  to  my  mind  that  he  might  have  done  so.  The 
original  state  of  the  Mexicans  is  said  to  have  been  "  much 
superior  to  that  of  the  Spaniards  themselves  when  they 
were  first  known  to  the  Phoenicians,  that  of  the  Gauls 
when  first  known  to  the  Greeks,  or  that  of  the  Germans 
and  Britons  when  first  known  to  the  Romans ;"  and  that 
is  putting  the  case  so  far  within  the  bounds  of  truth  as  to 
be  ridiculous. 

These  people  were  well  housed,  decently  and  often  splen- 
didly clothed.  They  enjoyed  vapor  baths,  made  cloth,  had 
a  pretty  full  equipment  of  household  goods,  maintained 
schools  and  even  colleges,  commemorated  passing  events 
in  rude  sculpture  and  picture-writings  or  paintings,  farmed 
pretty  intelligently,  and  did  some  mining ;  they  (or  an  an- 
terior and  superior  race)  had  reared  palaces,  temples,  and 
pyramids,  and  constructed  aqueducts  and  masonry  that 
would  not  have  discredited  the  best  modern  railroad ;  and 
they  even  played  foot  and  hand  ball,  with  lawn-tennis,  per- 
haps! Their  mortar  far  surpassed  the  modern  article  in 
enduring  solidity. 


20  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

Children  were  brought  up  in  a  pretty  stiff  Avay.  The 
child  who  told  a  lie  had  its  lips  pricked  with  the  thorn  of 
an  aloe,  and  persistence  in  that  sort  of  thing  led  to  a  split- 
ting of  the  lip.  The  Mexican  father  talked  to  his  son  after 
this  fashion : 

"  Never  tell  a  falsehood,  because  a  lie  is  a  heinous  sin  !  Speak  ill 
of  nobody.  Be  not  dissolute,  for  thereby  thou  wilt  incense  the  gods, 
and  they  will  cover  thee  with  infamy.  Steal  not,  nor  give  thyself  up 
to  gaming  ;  otherwise  thou  wilt  be  a  disgrace  to  thy  parents,  whom 
thou  oughtest  rather  to  honor,  for  the  education  they  have  given  thee. 
If  thou  wilt  be  virtuous  thy  example  will  put  the  wicked  to  shame." 

Be  it  remembered  that  this  was  long,  long  before  the  da3'^s 
of  the  copy-book  in  New  England,  and  quite  anterior  to 
the  rule  of  Rev.  Dr.  Dorus  Clark's  catechism. 

But  even  then  there  were  professional  teachers  who  re- 
garded morality  and  a  religious  belief  as  distinct  things — 
with  so  great  emphasis  on  the  belief  part  that  the  altars 
of  a  great  stone  god  of  vague  and  formless  appearance, 
but  much  possibility  in  the  line  of  hideous  suggestiveness, 
were  made  to  run  never-ending  streams  of  blood.  Think 
of  a  sacrificial  stone  that  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Museum 
of  Mexico — an  elaborately  chiselled  block  of  basalt,  nine 
feet  in  diameter  and  three  feet  in  lieight — which  was  ded- 
icated by  the  slaughter  of  twelve  thousand  persons  !  But 
think,  too,  of  the  bigoted  iniquity  of  the  Spanish  bishop, 
Zumarraga,  who  made  a  bonfire,  at  the  time  of  the  Con- 
quest, of  all  the  picture-writings  that  portrayed  the  history 
of  this  people — surely  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  one  that 
looks  black  even  by  the  side  of  human  sacrifices ! 


MEXICO,  TAST  AXD  PRESENT.  21 

ITT. 

The  conqnest,  and  E"^  enough.  Tlic  sword  of  tlie  Span- 
Deyeiopracnt  of  iartls  brought  its  sharp  cliange.  There  is 
ludependeuce.  abundant  material  to  be  found  in  every 
good  public  library  concerning  the  achievements  of  the 
Aztecs ;  the  advent  of  that  adventurer,  Cortez,  who  burned 
his  ships  and  came  to  occupy  the  country ;  the  Conquest 
and  the  rule  of  the  viceroys,  sixty -four  in  286  years;  the 
curate  Hidalgo  and  the  ten  years'  war  for  independence; 
the  evolution  and  revolutions  that  followed  ;  the  secession 
of  Texas,  and  the  war  -with  the  United  States ;  the  remark- 
able career  of  President  Juarez,  and  the  sequestration  of 
Church  property  ;  the  intervention  of  England,  France,  and 
Spain  in  consequence  of  gross  outrages  on  foreigners ;  the 
arrival  of  the  ill-fated  Archduke  Maximilian  of  Austria, 
who  was  tricked  into  the  belief  that  Mexico  was  ready  to 
welcome  him,  and  went  to  his  untimely  end  like  a  brave 
man  ;  the  downfall  of  the  Church  party,  w^hose  final  and 
desperately  ventured  card  the  doomed  "emperor"  was  pur- 
suaded  to  play  ;  and,  last  of  all,  the  establishment  of  some- 
thing like  a  constitutional  government. 

Thus  much  for  the  background.  Our  purpose  is  to  deal 
with  Mexico  of  to-day  in  a  candid  effort  to  understand  her 
situation  ;  to  portray  the  elements  which  make  up  the  prob- 
lems that  she  is  trying  to  solve  with  more  or  less  of  intel- 
ligence ;  to  consider  the  relations  which  her  mixed  popu- 
lation sustain  towards  each  other  and  to  the  State  ;  to  exam- 
ine her  social  life  on  both  the  material  and  pictorial  sides; 
and,  finally,  to  see  what  trade  conditions  exist  here,  and  how 
all  these  interests  affect  the  future  of  a  sister  republic.  The 
American  people  are  concerned  in  having  a  good  neighbor 
on  our  southern  border.    The  chaotic  past  has  seemed  dark 


22  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

enough,  but  it  is  believed  by  impartial  students  of  events 
that  each  upheaval  has  placed  the  people  a  little  farther  in 
advance ;  and  study  confirms  this  view, 

IV. 

The  Tremendous  ^"^  ^^^'^  '^^}^  f^^^"  ^^   Say  that  the  na- 

Drawbacks  of  the  tional  outlook  is  brighter  to-day  than  ever 
Present.  before,  yet   just  how   much  this   means 

will  be  understood  only  after  a  preliminary  consideration 
of  the  country,  of  the  people  of  to-day,  and  of  the  govern- 
ment which  is  alleged  to  be  theirs.  In  the  effort  to  create 
a  republic  in  spirit  as  well  as  in  name,  the  statesmen  of 
Mexico  labor  under  tremendous  disadvantages.  The  nat- 
ural features  of  the  country,  and  the  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple who  make  up  the  population  of  probably  10,000,000, 
offer  nothing  like  a  fair  opportunity  for  building  up  a 
government  for  the  people  and  by  the  people,  whose  foun- 
dation must  be  prosperous  and  self-respecting  citizenship. 
Three  fourths  of  Mexico  is  table-land,  lying  from  6000 
to  8000  feet  above  the  sea-level,  a  great  plateau  hemmed 
in  by  lofty  mountains  that  bar  the  rains  from  the  coast  to 
the  east  and  west.  This  immense  region,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  traversed  at  its  least  attractive  point  by  the  Mexican 
Central  road  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  the  journey  gives 
the  visitor  an  unfavorable  impression  of  the  country.  In 
the  early  winter  the  highland  presents  its  best  appearance, 
just  after  the  rainy  season  of  about  three  months.  Still 
it  is  evident  enough  that  the  absence  of  water  is  a  most 
serious  detriment  to  Mexico.  Agriculture  must  mainly 
depend  on  irrigation,  and  for  this  the  streams  are  compar- 
atively few  and  small,  reinforced  now  and  then  by  a  fresh- 
water lake.  There  are  spots  of  surpassing  richness,  even 
in  the  northern  half  of  the  country,  where  streams  are 


MEXICO,  PAST  AND  TRESEXT.  23 

found,  that  show  the  native  strength  of  the  soil.  It  is 
claimed  tliat  something  can  be  done  by  using  artesian 
wells,  but  this  does  not  appear  to  be  practicable.  Some 
fruit-growers  also  insist  that  here,  as  lias  been  demonstrated 
in  California,  irrigation  is  not  a  necessity.  All  these  things, 
however,  are  still  in  the  realm  of  speculation.  The  most 
fertile  regions  lie  on  either  coast,  where  the  luxuriant  fields 
sink  abruptly  from  the  foot-hills  to  the  sea.  "While  Mex- 
ico has  many  exceptionally  fruitful  agricultural  districts, 
it  does  not  compare,  for  grazing  and  growing  wlieat  and 
corn,  with  the  western  United  States. 

The  land  is  owned  in  great  haciendas  or  estates,  so  that 
land  kings  often  ride  an  incredible  number  of  miles  with- 
out reaching  the  limit  of  their  property.  It  is  argued 
that  these  feudal  lords  retard  the  progress  of  the  country, 
particularly  as  Mother  Earth  is  untaxed,  and  straitened 
owners  are  not  thereby  forced  to  sell  out.  Under  such 
circumstances  the  cultivation  of  their  immense  tracts  is 
often  but  an  indifferent  matter.  Some  of  the  landlords 
live  abroad  and  value  their  estates  simply  for  the  cash 
that  can  be  squeezed  out  of  them.  But  while  the  demand 
that  great  estates  be  subdivided  is  clearly  right  in  intent, 
and  practicable  to  some  extent,  the  lack  of  an  abundant 
water  supply  wherewith  to  make  small  holdings  tillable  will 
always  limit  the  a[)plication  of  land  reform.  The  right 
conditions  do  not  exist  in  a  large  part  of  the  country  for 
attracting  that  immigration  which  is  felt  to  be  necessary 
for  the  best  development  of  Mexico.  Neither  is  the  gov- 
ernment in  a  position  to  give  away  valuable  land  in  any 
quantity.  These  are  most  serious  drawbacks  to  all  desira- 
ble schemes  of  colonization  from  the  old  world. 

The  special  interests  of  Mexico — mining  first  of  all, 
the  growing  of  sugar,  cotton,  tobacco,  coffee,  and  tropical 


24  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

fruits — will  always  draw  outside  investments,  and  Ameri- 
cans are  bound  to  put  their  money  in  here  in  one  form  or 
another.  Eacli  man  will  believe  that  his  venture  is  to  be 
the  lucky  one,  and  property  interests  are  now  pretty  well 
protected. 

But  substantial  social  growth  must,  after  all,  depend 
upon  the  population  as  it  now  exists.  In  considering  this 
the  people  may  be  first  divided  into  the  two  great  classes 
of  the  rich  and  poor;  and  poverty  here,  as  in  all  trop- 
ical countries,  is  extreme.  But  this  superficial  line  cuts 
through  a  thin  top  stratum,  underneath  which  the  body  of 
the  population  live  their  peculiar  life.  In  this  docile  and 
capable  peasantry  lies  the  reserve  power  of  Mexico.  The 
mass  of  the  people  are  Indians  who  resemble  in  appear- 
ance and  habits  the  Zuni,  Pueblo,  and  Navajo  tribes  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  They  offer  first-class  material 
in  the  rough,  out  of  which  it  will  be  possible  with  time, 
patience,  and  education,  to  mould  an  honest  citizenship. 
Their  past  shows  this,  though  it  is  by  no  means  literally 
true,  as  Charles  A.  Dana  says,  that  their  vices  are  all  of 
European  origin. 

John  Bigelow  sums  up  tlic  native  population  in  this 
way:  "  Of  the  ten  millions  of  people,  fully  three  quarters 
are  Indians,  two  thirds  of  whom  cannot  read,  nor  ever  had 
an  ancestor  who  could,  who  never  slept  in  a  bed  or  wore  a 
stocking,  and  who  are  accustomed  to  live  at  a  less  ex- 
pense per  day  than  a  farm  horse  would  cost  in  any  New 
England  state."  On  the  first  count,  the  misfortune  of  the 
people  can  be  remedied,  and  Congress  has  passed  a  liberal 
educational  bill  to  this  end.  The  schools  now  practically 
reach  only  the  children  of  Spanish  blood.  The  Methodist 
missionaries,  who  are  pursuing  sensible  methods  of  work, 
begin  with  schools,  and  they  find  the  natives  surprisingly 


MEXICO,  PAST  AND  TRESENT.  25 

apt  at  acquiring  knowledge.  This  only  confirms  what  is 
apparent  in  the  daily  bearing  of  a  sober,  industrious,  ready, 
and  generally  honest  people.  The  fact  that  the  Indians 
do  not  wear  stockings  in  this  hot  climate  shows  their  good 
sense,  especially  as  they  all  possess  huaraches,  or  leather 
sandals ;  that  they  should  occupy  beds  is  not  essential ; 
and  that,  by  the  use  of  tortillas,  or  wafer-cakes  made  from 
corn  that  has  been  soaked  in  lime-water,  and  frijoles  or 
brown  beans,  the  Mexicans  can  live  most  economically,  is 
a  big  point  in  their  favor. 

Popular  education  must  do  for  Mexico  what  no  other 
agency  can  accomplish,  and  foundation  work  among  the 
native  population  will  yield  permanent  results  by  the  side 
of  which  the  desirable  but  surface  policy  of  subsidies  and 
concessions  will  appear  as  tinsel  statesmanship. 

Until  this  sure  basis  has  been  laid  the  permanence  of 
existinir  Mexican  institutions  can  never  be  insured.  The 
victories  of  peace  have  not  yet  been  organized,  for  the 
people  are  only  now  fully  realizing  the  value  of  a  stable 
government.  The  country  needs  an  intelligent  middle 
class  to  form  the  backbone  of  a  public  opinion  such  as  is 
now  conspicuously  wanting,  and  this  must  be  grown  upon 
the  native  stock,  llcre,  it  will  be  seen,  is  a  gigantic  task, 
by  the  side  of  which  the  negro  problem  that  confronts  the 
United  States  looks  small  indeed. 

It  has  always  been  said  that  the  ruling  class  in  Mexico 
arc  of  Spanish  and  mixed  blood.  This  is  still  true,  though 
the  late  President  Juarez,  the  idol  of  the  people,  an  able 
lawyer  and  a  remarkable  president,  was  a  pure  Indian. 
General  Diaz,  too,  the  present  able  head  of  the  republic,  is 
of  native  parentage.  Juarez  was  an  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral rule,  for  the  great  men  of  this  country  have  usually 
been  soldiers.     The  educated  classes  nearly  all  show  Span- 


2G  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

ish  origin,  but,  as  no  census  lias  ever  been  taken,  it  is  im- 
possible to  give  any  figures  on  this  point.  When  popular 
education  has  taken  root  here  the  linfjerinfr  domination  of 
the  Spaniards  will  be  weakened,  and,  in  time,  mostly  broken ; 
for  there  are  great  capacities  lying  dormant  in  this  native 
population. 

The  railroads  are  here,  messengers  of  enlightenment, 
whose  presence  stirs  the  sluggish  currents  of  a  life  like 
that  of  Oriental  peoples.  They  already  inspire  more  pro- 
gressive methods  in  business,  but  they  do  not  touch,  in  any 
broad  sense,  the  deepest  need  of  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    POLITICS    OF   THE    COUNTRY. 
I. 

Mexico  has  a  well-nigh  perfect  consti- 
■i-he  states  and  their  ^^^^-        ]^^^  {^^^^^^  ^f  government  being 

Capitals.  '  ,    ,      tt    •      i  o 

modelled  after  those  of  the  United  States. 
If  this  instrument  could  be  applied  with  even  approximate 
fidelity  in  the  twenty-seven  states,  one  territory,  and  the 
federal  district — an  area  some  sixteen  times  greater  than 
the  state  of  New  York — the  result  would  be  a  true  repub- 
lic. But  it  is  useless  to  plunge  into  a  discussion  of  the 
politics  of  the  country  without  some  understanding  of  the 
local  political  divisions. 

The  table  which  is  given  below  exhibits  the  states  and 
their  populations,  with  the  capitals  and  their  inhabitants. 
The  federal  district  contains  40 1  square  miles,  and  that 
most  interesting  city,  the  capital  of  the  nation,  boasts  some 
300,000  people.  Upon  the  G1,5C2  square  miles  of  the 
territory  of  Lower  California  arc  settled  only  about  30,000 
inhabitants.  The  several  states  arc  subdivided  into  48  de- 
partments, ITO  districts,  48  cantons,  110  counties,  1411 
municipalities,  140  cities,  378  towns,  4880  villages,  872 
hamlets,  0  missions,  5809  haciendas,  and  14,705  ranches. 
The  use  of  a  map  will  facilitate  study  of  the  following 
statistics : 
2 


28 


MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 


States. 

Square 

Miles. 

Population. 

Capital. 

Inhabit- 
ants. 

AgnasCalientes — 
ORmnPche 

2,895 
25,832 
16,048 
83,746 
50,8:i9 

3,743 
42,510 
11,411 
24,550 

8,163 
39,168 

7,838 
25,689 

1,776 
23,635 
83,591 
12,021 

3,207 
27,500 
36,198 
78,021 
30,225 

1,620 
11,851 
26,232 
29,567 
22,998 

140,430 

86,290 
219,735 
180,758 
104,131 

65,827 
190,846 
788,202 
308,716 
434,090 
994,900 
696,038 
648,857 
154,940 
194,861 
718,194 
704,372 
179,915 
506,799 
107,093 
139,140 
144,747 
133,493 

93,387 
504,970 
28.5,384 
413,603 

Agnas  Calieiites 

Canipeche 

31,872 

15,190 

8,500 

12,116 

11,340 

23,572 

27.119 

56,112 

3,800 

12,500 

78,600 

12,300 

20,400 

16,320 

1.5,.S00 

26,228 

04,558 

27,500 

34,300 

7,878 

9,700 

7,800 

4,800 

6,800 

12,400 

32,000 

32,000 

San  Christobcl 

Chihuahua 

Ohihunhiiii    

Coahiiila 

Saltillo 

Onlim.i              

Colima.... 

Om'ano'O 

Diiraiio'o 

Guauajuato 

Guanajuato 

Guerrero 

IIidal*^o 

Pachuca 

•Talisco 

Oiiadahijara 

Tdliica 

Mifhoaoaii 

Morelia, . . 

Morelos 

Ciieinavaca 

Nnevo  Leon 

Oaxaca  

Oaxaca  de  Juarez... 
Puebla 

Puebla 

Oueretaro 

Queretaro 

Sun  Luis  Potosi 

San  Luis  Potosi 

Cnliacan 

Ures 

Ciudad  "Victoria 

Tla.xcala 

San  Juau  Bautista. . 

Sonora 

Tamanlipas 

Tlaxcala 

Tabasco 

Merida 

Zncatecas 

Zacatecas 

The  Constitution  and 
Congress. 


11. 

The  present  constitution  bears  date  of 
February  5, 1857,  with  modifications  down 
to  October  3,  1883 — and  it  is  the  great 
legacy  of  statesmanship  which  President  Juarez  (pronounce 
Iloo-iirez)  left  to  the  people,  lie  was  of  and  for  them, 
being  a  Zapotec  Indian,  of  a  race  that  were  of  the  hills, 
and  never  had  been  fully  conquered  by  the  Spaniards.  In 
the  service  of  his  country,  in  prison,  and  in  exile,  this 
Indian  and  lawyer  had  cherished  his  dream  of  a  Mexican 
republic,  and  nursed  implacable  hostility  to  the  domination 
of  the  Church.  The  constitution  of  the  first  national  Con- 
gress, adopted  in  1812,  had  declared  that  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion only  should  be  allowed  in  the  State,  and  that  the 
press,  while  "free  for  all  purposes  of  science  and  political 
economy,  was  not  free  for  the  discussion  of  religious  mat- 


THE  rOLITICS  OF  TDE  COUNTRY.  29 

tcrs."  "When  Alvarez  was  proclaimed  president  of  the  re- 
public in  1855,  he  made  Juarez  his  minister  of  justice  and 
ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  latter  submitted  reform  laws 
that  were  enacted  by  the  Congress  of  1856,  which  body, 
after  deliberating  a  year,  adopted  the  existing  constitution. 
Juarez  "  abolished  the  whole  system  of  class  legislation, 
suppressed  the  military  and  ecclesiastical  fueros — the  privi- 
leged and  special  tribunals  and  charters  of  the  army  and  the 
clergy — and  established,  for  the  first  time  in  Mexico,  equal- 
ity of  the  citizens  before  the  law."  The  representatives  of 
the  people,  through  the  constitutional  law,  declared  not 
only  the  right  of  the  citizen  to  hold  any  religious  views 
which  he  chose  to  adopt,  but  insured  full  and  free  discus- 
sion at  all  points. 

Juarez,  the  prophet  and  architect  of  the  republic,  the 
man  who  loosed  the  bonds  of  media!valism,  and  whose 
horizon  took  in  a  free  government,  looms  up  in  magnifi- 
cent proportions.  The  country  which  produced  him  is 
not  now  barren  of  sons  with  whom  patriotism  and  republi- 
canism are  an  unselfish  passion.  Still,  a  constitution  does 
not  make  a  republic  as  we  know  it,  nor  do  patriotic  leaders 
constitute  a  people  who  intelligently  exercise  the  right  of 
self-government. 

The  habit  of  citizenship  has  yet  to  be  cultivated  by  this 
people,  and  growth  in  the  use  of  sovereign  rights  must 
rest  back  on  the  wider  development  of  popular  education. 
The  student  of  politics  in  tlw  United  States  knows  that  an 
uneducated  people  will  not  avail  themselves  of  the  right  to 
vote  as  a  matter  of  course — many  southern  states  bear 
witness  to  this — and  the  fact  is  yet  more  strikingly  shown 
in  Mexico. 

The  Mexican  states  are  independent  to  the  same  extent 
as  are  those  of  the  United  States,  and  the  powers  of  the 


30  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

federal  government  are  divided  into  three  branches — the 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  Congress  consists 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives;  there  are 
about  230  members  of  the  latter  body,  elected  for  two 
years,  and  apportioned  at  the  rate  of  one  member  for 
40,000  inhabitants ;  the  Senate  comprises  66  members, 
two  from  each  state ;  congressmen  and  senators  are  paid 
$3000  a  year.  A  president  of  the  Senate  is  elected  each 
month,  and  that  officer,  in  case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  presi- 
dency, succeeds  temporarily  to  that  supreme  trust.  The 
law-making  body  meets  annually  from  April  1  to  May  30, 
and  from  September  16  to  December  16.  In  addition  to 
this  there  is  a  permanent  legislative  attachment  to  this 
government.  A  fixed  committee  of  both  branches,  having 
power  to  act  in  all  emergencies,  sits  during  the  recess. 

III. 

The  Grave  Deficien-  ^^^^'^^  is  improving  steadily,  if  slowly ; 
cies  ill  Popular  Gov-  but  thcsc  states  after  all  form  but  a  loose- 
ernmeut.  j^^^.^^^  ^^^^  ^^  national  life,  and  Span- 

ish usages  in  politics  render  this  government  essentially  a 
monarchy  under  ideal  republican  forms.  In  theory  the 
people  elect  the  Congress,  state  legislatures,  and  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  states.  The  president  is  chosen  by  electors, 
holds  office  for  four  years,  and  cannot  remain  in  power  for 
two  successive  terms.  This  last  provision  is  operative,  but 
that  is  about  all. 

Elections  are  in  reality  what  we  should  deem  a  farce. 
The  individual  has  little  sense  of  personal  responsibility, 
and  republicanism  exhibits  scarcely  a  healthy  infancy  as 
yet.  The  last  general  election  made  barely  a  ripple  of 
excitement — which  was  not  in  itself  a  bad  thing,  by  the 
way.     Nearly  every  sign  that  marks  the  time  of  voting  in 


THE  POLITICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  31 

the  United  States  was  conspicuously  wanting  licre.  There 
were  no  public  meetings,  there  was  no  popular  discussion 
of  principles,  no  weighing  of  men  ;  no  parties  exist,  as  wo 
know  them,  and  there  was  little  voting.  The  forms  aro 
said  to  have  been  duly  observed,  and  General  Diaz  was  un- 
doubtedly the  overwhelming  popular  choice  for  president; 
but  a  stranger  in  Mexico  never  would  have  suspected  that 
the  people  were  engaged  in  the  serious  business  of  electing 
a  chief  magistrate,  who  is,  in  fact,  intrusted  with  the  most 
extraordinary  powers. 

It  seems  strange  enough  to  find  here  little  or  no  public 
opinion.  The  haccndado  looks  after  his  land  with  a  vary- 
ing degree  of  care,  and  aims  to  shine  in  society  ;  the  mer- 
chants and  shopkeepers  attend  to  business,  and  have  their 
clubs,  theatres,  and  restaurants  for  evening  refuge ;  and 
the  working  people  are  fully  content  with  getting  together 
enough  to  live  on,  if  only  they  find  plenty  of  recreation. 
Personally  no  responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  affairs 
seems  to  rest  on  the  voter,  and  that  vigilance  which  is  the 
price  of  liberty  is  not  yet  the  heritage  of  all  classes,  and 
scarcely  of  any  class.  "The  government"  takes  charge 
of  all  of  that,  and  does  its  work  well  or  ill  according  to 
the  character  of  those  who  secure  or  are  intrusted  with 
power. 

Since  1876  Mexico  has  had  something  like  a  stable  gov- 
ernment, but  in  the  past  an  ambitious  leader  thirsting  for 
power,  or  a  general  who  wished  to  lead  the  people  against 
a  too -selfish  despotism,  has  acquired  control  of  affairs 
through  a  pronunciamicnto  and  revolution.  In  fact,  now 
the  i)resident  is  the  military  head  of  affairs,  and  his  author- 
ity must  be  maintained  by  the  iron  hand  of  the  army.  To 
tliis  end  the  military  csUiblishment  receives  first  consider- 
ation in  the  distribution  of  funds,  and  the  generals  aro 


32  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

well  lioused  and  must  be  the  trusted  friends  of  the  presi- 
dent. 

It  has  been  said  that  there  is  no  free  press  in  Mexico, 
This  sweeping  declaration  needs  to  be  qualified.  The  op- 
position papers  indulge  in  wholesale  denunciations  rather 
than  facts  and  arguments,  and  when  they  incite  sedition 
the  government  steps  in  and  sends  the  editors  to  jail.  But 
intelligent  criticism  of  public  policy  and  men  in  office  does 
not  appear  to  be  choted  off  in  any  unreasonable  way. 


IV. 

General  Porfirio  Diaz  is  the  best-known 

udhis 
Cabinet. 


The  President  and  his        ■, -,•  rivr-  i  -i  •  a   ±- 

public  man  of  Mexico,  and  his  reputation 


abroad  is  justified  by  the  confidence  that 
is  reposed  in  him  at  home.  His  character  shines  by  con- 
trast with  the  record  made  by  his  immediate  predecessor 
in  the  presidency,  Manuel  Gonzalez,  whose  administration 
leaves  no  pleasant  odor  in  the  retrospect.  If  any  reliance 
can  be  placed  on  the  statements  of  belief  made  by  re- 
sponsible and  respectable  residents,  the  ex-president  has 
accumulated  from  $3,000,000  to  $10,000,000  during  his 
public  career,  or  gathered  a  fortune  which  is  estimated  at 
about  a  dollar  per  head  of  the  people.  Favorites  of  the 
administration  are  said  to  have  profited  by  their  oppor- 
tunities to  a  degree  that  could  be  tolerated  only  under  a 
government  whose  lease  of  power  approaches  the  despotic. 
It  was  a  good  day  for  Mexico  when  Diaz  succeeded  Gon- 
zalez. There  has  been  bitter  talk  against  the  ex-president, 
and  this  would  long  ago  have  led  to  action  of  some  kind 
in  most  countries. 

In  his  private  life,  too,  Diaz  is  a  bright  contrast  to  Gon- 
zalez. The  young  wife  of  the  president  is  the  daughter  of 
Manuel  Romero  Rubio,  and  the  alliance  strengthened  Diaz 


^^  ^i^ 


mKSIDENT    POKFIKIO  DIAZ. 


THE  POLITICS  OF   TUE  COUNTRY.  35 

with  the  Church  party,  while  Mrs.  Diaz  certainly  has  a  very 
devoted  husband.  Gonzalez,  even  when  president,  had  no 
social  position  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  but  his  reputation  for 
standing  by  his  friends — we  have  seen  the  same  sort  of  men 
in  American  politics — gave  him  great  political  strength. 
lie  is  now  governor  of  Guanajuato. 

President  Diaz  means  well  by  his  country,  and  is  dis- 
posed to  push  a  solid  and  progressive  policy  just  as  fast  as 
the  mixed  conditions  by  which  he  is  surrounded  will  per- 
mit of  advance.  He  is  assisted  by  a  pretty  strong  cabinet. 
The  minister  of  foreign  relations  is  Ignacio  Mariscal,  the 
most  finished  diplomat  of  the  country,  lie  is  a  man  of 
great  native  ability,  who  has  conducted  this  department 
under  several  administrations,  and  has  also  served  as  min- 
ister to  England,  Manuel  Romero  Rubio,  the  president's 
father-in-law  and  minister  of  the  interior,  is  a  great  lawyer, 
a  polished  statesman,  a  patriot,  and  a  dominant  force  in 
the  government.  Few  public  men  of  any  country  surpass 
him  in  tact.  Manuel  Dublan,  secretary  of  the  treasury,  is 
an  honest  man,  who  used  to  be  deemed  too  much  of  a 
theorist,  but  he  has  proved  his  capacity  for  practical  work. 
General  Carlos  rachcco,  minister  of  public  works,  is  a  friend 
of  Airerican  enterprises.  The  secretary  of  war  is  not  an 
important  person  under  a  president  who  is  himself  a  mili- 
tary man.  General  Pedro  Ilinojosa,  an  elderly  soldier, 
now  fills  the  position,  Joaquin  Baranda  is  the  minister  of 
justice  and  public  instruction. 

V. 

Parties,  as  we  know  them  in  the  United 
A  summary  ofPollUcs.    ^^^^^^    ^^    ^^^    ^^.^^    .^    ^^^^.^^^      .^,,^^ 

postmaster  delegate  who  sat  in  the  Chicago  republican 
national  convention  of  1884  and  said,  "I  am  for  the  gov- 


30  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

ernment,"  expressed  in  five  words  tlic  political  situation  of 
this  country.  When  the  Church  party  lost  power  it  prac- 
tically ceased  to  exercise  any  influence  in  affairs.  Though 
it  has  a  silent  existence,  and  its  machinations  are  feared  by 
the  government,  outwardly  the  minority  make  little  sign. 
The  real  head  of  the  Church  party  is  the  archbishop  of 
Mexico,  but  he  never  appears  on  the  surface.  Outside  of 
the  priests  it  is  not  easy  to  name  any  very  distinguished 
Church  leaders.  Many  old  Catholic  families  retired  from 
politics  when  Juarez  nationalized  the  property  of  the 
Church.  They  regard  themselves  as  the  aristocracy  of  the 
nation,  and  take  comfort  in  looking  down  on  Diaz,  who  has 
risen  from  the  ranks  of  the  people.  The  leadership  of  the 
Church  party  is,  therefore,  ecclesiastical  and  aristocratic,  and 
its  following  comes  from  the  lower  orders.  The  Church 
maintains  its  hold  on  the  women  to  a  great  extent,  but  men 
are  seldom  seen  attending  the  services. 

The  tremendous  revolution  which  Juarez  carried  through 
when  he  seized  for  the  government  all  the  monasteries  and 
magnificent  Moorish  cathedral  and  church  buikhngs  strikes 
one  with  amazement.  The  Spaniards  not  only  established 
Roman  Catholicism,  but  that  religion  had  come  to  super- 
sede the  worship  of  the  Aztecs  in  villages  where  the  Spanish 
language  was  unknown.  Yet  the  confiscation  of  all  the 
rich  holdings  of  a  most  powerful  organization  is  now  viewed 
as  an  indifferent  matter. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  party  of  the  Church  is  not 
without  organization.  Smarting  under  the  powerful  hand 
of  an  antagonistic  government,  and  declaring  always  the  in- 
justice of  their  despoilment,  the  Roman  Catholic  forces  in 
Mexico  wait  the  opportunity  to  strike  at  the  powers  that 
be.  The  liberalizing  tendencies  of  modern  times  have  had 
little  play  in  the  Church  as  it  exists  here,  and  priests  who 


TUE   rOLlTICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  37 

come  down  from  the  United  States  do  not  find  a  wholly 
congenial  atmosphere  among  their  brethren  of  the  holy 
orders. 

The  Liberals  perpetuate  themselves  in  power.  Tliis  is 
done  by  the  will  of  the  people,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution  is  constantly  violated.  When  the 
public  good  is  held  to  demand  it,  certain  popular  rights  arc 
put  in  suspension.  Judged  by  the  standard  of  a  robust 
and  sensitive  public  sentiment,  such  as  exists  in  the  United 
States,  there  can  be  no  defence  for  many  of  the  methods 
employed.  It  seems  appalling  not  to  feel  at  once  the  in- 
dignant protest  of  a  living  people  interested  in  the  conduct 
of  their  dearest  concerns.  But  after  a  little  the  Yankee 
comes  to  accept  the  fact  that  he  is  abroad,  and  that  it  will 
not  do  to  condemn  the  men  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Mexico 
on  grounds  that  would  eternally  damn  an  administration 
at  home. 

Dealing  with  a  heterogeneous  population  that  is  almost 
wholly  uneducated  in  popular  government,  menaced  by  the 
Church  influences,  hampered  by  a  State  feeling  in  many 
quarters  that  is  hostile  to  the  central  government,  burdened 
with  the  extravagance  and  dishonesty  of  a  previous  admin- 
istration, oppressed  by  hard  times,  and  knowing,  too,  that 
only  by  the  use  of  the  army  can  order  be  maintained — 
these  are  the  conditions  that  surround  President  Diaz  and 
his  cabinet.  The  problem  has  been  simplified  a  little  by  the 
presence  of  the  railroads,  which  enable  the  central  authority 
to  project  its  troops  with  rapidity.  For  this  reason  ambi- 
tious governors  are  less  likely  to  make  trouble  now  than 
formerly.  In  the  Congress  composed  of  Liberals  there  is  a 
demand  for  reform  within  the  party.  The  parties  in  Con- 
gress are  the  Liberal  opposition  and  the  government  Liber- 
als. The  Church  party  does  not  appear  as  such, 
o* 


38  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

President  Diaz  has  yet  some  time  to  serve,  having  as- 
sumed office  in  the  year  that  President  Cleveland  did,  and 
he  is  likely  to  be  his  own  successor,  Congress  having  amend- 
ed the  constitution  so  as  to  admit  of  his  immediate  re- 
election. The  president  is  not  consistent  with  himself 
in  this  position,  but  there  can  be  doubt  that  the  business 
sentiment  of  the  country  'welcomes  the  prospect  of  an- 
other term  for  Diaz,  Between  Diaz  and  Gonzalez  there 
is  the  widest  room  for  preference.  Porfirio  Diaz  cannot 
be  called  the  Gladstone  of  Mexico — he  is  a  soldier  rather  than 
an  all-equipped  statesman  ;  lie  may  not  be  the  perfection  of 
unselfishness  ;  but  he  is  admitted  to  be  a  patriotic  and  honest 
man,  loyal  to  the  republic,  and  ambitious  for  her  prosperity. 
His  past  bears  no  stain  of  ill-gotten  wealth,  and  his  present 
is  full  of  indefatigable  service  to  Mexico.  In  any  clash  be- 
tween the  Gonzalez  and  Diaz  interests  the  sympathies  of 
Americans  are  due  to  the  president  of  the  republic  and  not 
to  his  predecessor.  They  represent  types  of  men  that  are 
not  unfamiliar  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The 
irreconcilable  conflict  that  exists  between  the  methods  of 
these  men  may  have  to  be  fought  out,  but  you  may  be  sure 
that  it  will  not  be  openly  recognized  until  stern  necessity 
makes  no  other  course  practicable.  The  Liberal  party  does 
not  dare  to  divide  against  itself.  Diplomacy  is  an  art  dear 
to  the  Mexican  heart,  and  it  avails  much  in  public  affairs. 

VI. 

The  suggestion  that  the  United  States 

Idle  Talk  of  Annexa-  •     x-  ivr     •       •    i        j  ii 

^j^j^  may  in  time  annex  Mexico  is  heard  there 

now  and  then.     In  the  northern  portion 

of  the  country  this  fancy  most  prevails.     The  priests  see 

that  Roman  Catholicism  would  htive  a  better  chance  under 

the  toleration  of  religious   opinion  that  prevails  in   the 


THE  POLITICS  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  39 

Union  tlian  under  a  government  that  does  not  permit  a 
clergyman  of  that  Church  to  appear  on  the  streets  in  the 
garb  of  his  order.  The  idea  of  annexation  is  also  favored 
by  a  number  of  wealthy  Mexicans  who  suppose  that  their 
property  interests  ■would  be  safer  under  the  protection  of 
the  great  northern  republic. 

But  all  such  speculations  are  idle.  There  is  nothing  to 
tempt  the  cupidity  of  the  United  States,  and  all  moral  and 
public  considerations  make  against  adding  new  race  prob- 
lems to  those  which  now  vex  us,  "NVc  attempted  to  govern 
the  Southern  States  as  military  provinces,  and  failed.  At 
present  nothing  else  would  be  practicable  for  Mexico,  in 
case  any  portion  of  her  territory  should  be  added  to  "  God's 
country" — for  so  exiled  Americans  speak  of  their  homo. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AGRICULTURE    AND    THE    RAILROADS. 


David  A.  Wells  calls  this  "  the  poorest 
bods  in 
Fannin? 


Primitive  Methods  in  ^^^^^^^.^  ^^^^j^  of  Greenland  and  north  of 


the  south  pole."  Mr.  Briggs,  ex-chief- 
engineer  of  the  Mexican  Central  Railroad,  now  located  in 
Peru,  says  that  Mexico,  which  has  a  population  of  about 
1 0,000,000,  is  capable  of  supporting  in  comfort  1 50,000,000 
of  people.  There  you  have  the  extremes  of  opinion,  and 
it  is  but  fair  to  say  that  Mr.  Briggs  knows  the  country  by 
intimate  personal  examination,  and  that  he  is  armed  with 
most  interesting  details  enforcing  his  views.  The  truth, 
however,  lies  between.  Mr.  Wells  looks  at  Mexico  as  she 
is,  belated  in  the  race  of  nations,  and  burdened  with  the 
worst  possible  system  of  taxation,  national,  state,  and 
municipal ;  while  Mr.  Briggs  sees  her  natural  possibilities, 
reckons  what  Yankee  enterprise  could  accomplish  here,  and 
constructs  a  future  on  this  basis.  Both  are  too  ardent, 
each  in  his  way.  On  her  picturesque  side  Mexico  is  unique 
and  unequalled.  The  material  possibilities  here,  too,  are 
very  great — ample,  indeed,  to  pay  for  working,  but  ham- 
pered by  methods  not  sufficiently  advanced  to  insure  a 
fortune  or  a  good  livelihood  for  every  outside  seeker.  But 
intelligent  effort  will  tell  in  this  country,  as  everywhere. 

Agriculture  has  not  had  a  fair  chance,  for  these  people 
usually  plough  with  the  sharpened  stick,  just  as  was  done  in 


AGRICULTURE  AND  TUE   RAILROADS.  41 

Palestine  in  Christ's  time,  and  is  the  practice  to-day ;  but 
an  Illinois  plough  company  have  constructed  an  iron  plough 
as  nearly  as  possible  after  this  local  model,  and  it  is  creep- 
ing into  circulation  here.  That  plough  strikes  deeper,  and 
better  results  will  appear  from  its  use.  Perhaps  it  will  be 
discovered  on  the  high  plateaus,  where  the  bulk  of  the 
population  live,  that  improved  methods  will  not  so  wholly 
depend  for  results  on  irrigation.  If  so,  the  national  out- 
look will  be  vastly  bettered;  but  in  any  event  there  is  am- 
ple opportunity  here  to  develop  specialties  in  agriculture. 
As  California  has  found  out  that  she  can  gather  more 
wealth  in  agricultural  products  than  could  be  obtained  by 
mining,  so  Mexico  may  be  developed  in  time.  Ministo\' 
Romero  believes  that  the  state  of  Sonora  can  be  made  to 
j>roducc  more  wheat  than  California. 

II. 

The  greatest  crop  grown  is  Indian  corn, 

Iiilcrcsting  Crop  Sta-         •  <<  j    •  t  •         1.     i-n 

tisiica  universally   used  in  making  tortillas  or 

cakes,  the  value  of  the  yield  being  over 
$112,000,000,  about  four  fifths  of  the  total  agricultural 
product,  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  ninth  the  amount 
raised  in  the  United  States.  AVheat  is  the  next  crop, 
valued  at  some  $18,000,000;  brown  beans  possibly  come 
next,  with  a  total  of  half  the  above  sum ;  sugar  and  mo- 
lasses make  nearly  the  same  lump  sum ;  the  latter  crop  is 
estimated  in  the  neighborhood  of  $7,000,000 ;  while  pep- 
pers (made  into  chili,  a  prime  favorite  on  all  Mexican  tables) 
are  raised  to  the  extent  of  $4,500,000.  Coffee  and  tobacco 
open  specially  profitable  avenues  for  investment;  about 
82,000,000  worth  each  of  these  necessities  of  life  are  now 
grown.  Coffee  was  introduced  into  the  AVest  Indies  about 
1711,  and  it  was  transplanted  to  Mexico  at  the  beginning 


42  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

of  the  present  century.  It  is  grown  in  eight  states — Vera 
Cruz,  Oaxaca,  Chiapas,  Tabasco,  Guerrero,  Colima,  Michoa- 
can,  and.  Morelos ;  the  finest  variety  comes  from  Colima, 
and  Vera  Cruz  produces  the  largest  quantity.  Every  trav- 
eller will  aijree  that  Mexico  serves  an  excellent  article  of 
coffee — the  morning  solace  here  as  on  the  Continent. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  tobacco  is  indige- 
nous, and  derives  its  name  from  Tabaco  in  Yucatan.  The 
weed,  called  pycietl,  was  a  most  comforting  adjunct  to 
the  balls  of  the  Montezuraas  before  the  Conquest.  To- 
bacco is  at  its  best  on  this  its  native  heath,  and  no  finer 
cigars  are  brought  from  Cuba  than  can  be  bought  here  by 
an  expert  smoker.  Even  the  common  grades  are  excellent 
when  compared  with  the  plant  produced  in  the  Connecticut 
valley.  Years  ago  the  culture  of  tobacco  was  restricted 
to  the  vicinity  of  Orizaba,  but  now  it  is  grown  chiefly  in 
the  states  of  Vera  Cruz,  Tabasco,  Campeche,  Yucatan, 
Oaxaca,  Sinaloa,  and  Jalisco.  There  is  profit  in  sugar,  and 
more  could  be  grown  to  advantage ;  cotton,  too,  is  culti- 
vated in  about  half  the  states,  and  the  plant  thrives  up  to 
an  elevation  of  five  thousand  feet.  Tropical  fruits  appear 
to  perfection  in  many  parts  of  this  country,  while  the 
flowers  are  a  marvel  of  beauty  and  cheapness. 

Having  defined  the  general  lay  of  the  land,  it  should  be 
said  that  Mexico  stretches  away  under  three  zones — the 
tierra  caliente,  or  hot  land  ;  the  tierra  templada,  or  temper- 
ate land ;  and  the  tierra  fria,  or  cold  land.     Over  half  of 


TRANSCONTINENTAL  PROFILE  OF  MEXICO. 


'^■tt^  ..  ^- 


IN   TIKUUA   CALIENTE. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE  RAILROADS.  45 

the  country"Ts  higliland,  and  comes  under  the  Uist-namcd 
zone ;  the  remainder,  usually  given  as  half,  but  probably 
nearer  a  third  of  the  land,  is  about  equally  divided  between 
hot  and  temperate  zones.  It  will  be  seen  that  every- 
thing can  be  grown  somewhere  in  Mexico.  Thus  the  hot 
region  furnishes  cotton,  vanilla,  rice,  hemp,  sarsaparilla, 
peppers,  bene-seed,  anise-seed,  caoutchouc,  cocoa,  cassia, 
oranges,  bananas,  and  all  tropical  fruits,  including  original 
local  products — a  sort  of  pumpkin-pie  fruit  among  them. 
The  temperate  zone  repays  the  tiller  with  coffee,  sugar, 
tobacco,  cotton,  and  various  vegetables.  And  in  what  is 
called  "  the  cold  country  "  the  cereals,  hardy  vegetables, 
and  the  maguey  or  aloe — what  we  know  as  the  century 
plant,  of  manifold  uses,  out  of  which  the  native  liquor  is 
made,  together  with  paper,  thread,  and  cord — are  raised. 
Indian  corn,  brown  beans,  and  pepper  grow  in  all  the  states, 
and  wheat  in  all  but  five  of  the  twenty-seven  states.  The 
rainy  season  comes  in  summer,  and  to  take  advantage  of 
that  the  farmer  sows  in  May  and  reaps  in  October — gath- 
ering two  annual  crops  of  wheat  and  Indian  corn  in  the 
temperate  zone  and  on  the  central  table-land,  unless  a  too 
previous  frost  nips  the  second  venture;  while  in  the  states 
of  Vera  Cruz,  Oaxaca,  Guerrero,  Tabasco,  Mexico,  and  Ja- 
lisco the  husbandman  plucks  his  three  crops  of  corn  each 
year. 

Many  primitive  agricultural  methods  prevail  well-nigh 
universally,  and  there  is  little  snug  farming  such  as  you 
know  in  New  England.  The  climatic  lassitude  infects 
every  process,  and  the  peons  or  laborers  often  dawdle  and 
putter  in  a  way  that  would  be  wildly  exasperating  farther 
north.  The  first  sight  of  rural  life  here,  indeed,  would 
prejudice  some  Yankee  farmers  forever  against  Mexico. 
l>ut  second  thoughts  are  the  best  ones.     Seeing  a  thriftless 


46  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

Mexican  thresh  his  crops  upon  bare,  sraootl!'  ground  by 
driving  flocks  of  goats  over  them  does  not  prepossess  the 
visitor,  even  though  the  grain  is  afterwards  washed  in  the 
nearest  stream.  But  the  shadow  of  the  threshinsf-machine 
already  falls  on  the  old  earth  floor,  and  reapers,  mowers, 
and  ploughs  are  to  be  found  in  many  sections.  Ancestral 
habit  is  a  tyrant  in  agriculture,  but  a  new  day  is  dawning 
upon  the  ranches  in  the  northern  and  central  part  of  the 
table-land.  The  march  of  improvement  has  crossed  the 
border. 

III. 

Too  much  has  been  expected  in  Mexico 
Kam-oads^"  °  and  the  United  States  from  the  introduc- 
tion of  railroads.  The  generous  govern- 
ment concessions  to  the  new  lines  were  held  to  be  a  sort  of 
patent  plaster  certain  to  draw  Mexico  into  the  front  rank 
of  progress.  The  result  has  been  generally  disappointing, 
but  it  is  not  in  the  least  a  surprise  to  any  thoughtful  per- 
son who  is  at  all  conversant  with  the  local  conditions. 
This  country  has  made  remarkable  progress  since  the  new 
roads  entered  her  borders,  and  a  very  decided  impetus  in 
all  directions  has  followed.  There  is  more  business  done, 
quicker  methods  are  accepted,  and  Mexicans  take  kindly 
to  riding  on  a  rail.  General  Palmer,  formerly  president  of 
the  National  road,  said  that  the  introduction  of  the  railroads 
increased  the  revenues  of  the  government  from  $18,000,000 
to  $31,000,000  a  year.  It  is  clear  that  railroads  are  going 
to  have  a  profitable  career  here,  but  it  will  have  to  be  on  a 
reasonable  business  basis.  When  the  railroad  people  con- 
clude to  reckon  their  subsidies  as  uncertain,  for  the  present 
at  least,  and  to  count  simply  on  the  earning  capacity  of 
their  property,  they  will  be  on  a  solid  basis,  and  in  time 
on  a  profitable  one,  too. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  THE   RAILROADS.  47 

The  Liberal  party  has  given  most  extravagant  meaning  to 
its  name  by  granting  $120,000,000  in  railroad  snbsidics — 
a  drain  of  about  $7,000,000  a  year.  This  is  not  only  t\ 
sura  beyond  reason,  but  it  is  a  burden  quite  out  of  the 
power  of  the  government  to  carry  in  the  present  state  of 
its  revenues.  The  fact  is  that  the  treasury  pays  out  its 
collections  as  speedily  as  they  are  acquired,  and  there  aro 
no  overflowing  coffers  under  the  present  abominable  system 
of  taxation.  The  administration  feels  heavily  the  burden 
of  hard  times.  These  are  more  apparent  here  than  in  the 
United  States,  and  any  brightening  is  yet  a  matter  of  pre- 
diction and  not  of  evidence.  One  can  but  feel  a  strong 
sympathy  with  President  Diaz  in  his  effort  to  deal  with 
the  harassing  problems  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  Gon- 
zalez left  an  empty  treasury,  so  that  the  present  adminis- 
tration came  in  under  very  embarrassing  conditions.  The 
new  budget  voted  was  largely  in  excess  of  the  probable 
revenues,  thus  necessitating  the  sharpest  kind  of  economy. 
The  government  met  the  situation  by  postponing  the  pay- 
ment of  the  subsidies,  by  cutting  the  big  salaries  sharply, 
and  by  reducing  the  general  expenses — placing  things  on 
that  *' peace  basis"  to  which  Thomas  Talbot  brought  Mas- 
sachusetts in  1879, 

How  soon  matters  can  be  adjusted  so  as  to  permit  the 
complete  resumption  of  subsidy  payments  is  a  matter  for 
speculation.  Not  even  the  government  ministers  are  able 
to  speak  with  certainty  on  this  point.  The  general  busi- 
ness outlook  warrants  the  expectation  that  more  than  the 
three  per  cent,  to  the  Central,  and  two  per  cent,  each  to 
the  National  and  Mexican  roads  will  be  paid  during  the 
new  fiscal  year.  Of  Mexico's  obligation  in  the  premises, 
President  Diaz  said  in  his  message : 

"  The  creditors  of  the  nation  bad  a  just  and  indisputable  right  to 


48  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

demand  tlie  payment  of  the  debts  owed  them  in  the  fulfilment  of  the 
contracts  concluded  with  them ;  but  the  executive  was,  at  the  same 
time,  under  the  not-to-be-evaded  and  imperative  obligation  to  care 
for  the  preservation  of  the  government,  looking  carefully  to  the  main- 
tenance of  the  public  power,  when  the  revenues  of  the  nation  were 
not  sufficient  to  meet  both  demands." 

It  must  be  conceded  that  these  words  have  the  ring  of 
truth.  However  acute  Boston's  disappointment  may  be, 
this  was  the  inevitable  outcome  of  a  complicated  situation. 

IV. 

The  railroads  now  in  operation  enable 
''^oad's  'Stem  ^^ '  ^^^  tourist  to  sce  the  country  with  little  per- 
sonal inconvenience.  What  was  a  serious 
undertalcing  in  the  days  of  the  stage-lines  and  diligences, 
when  the  highwayman  was  not  unknown,  is  to-day  com- 
paratively an  easy  matter.  In  fact  it  is  no  more  difficult 
to  visit  Mexico  than  to  traverse  the  western  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  journey  is  in  many  ways  more  en- 
tertaining and  profitable.  No  one  who  has  crossed  the 
continent  should  omit  to  see  this  civilization,  and  that 
speedily.  Its  distinctive  features  have  not  yet  yielded 
much  to  those  universal  levelling  processes  that  are  mak- 
ing all  the  world  alike.  It  will  be  advisable,  before  going 
further,  to  review  the  Mexican  railroad  system.  All  the 
roads  end  in  the  capital  city,  which  is  as  much  a  local 
centre  as  was  imperial  Eome. 

Down  from  Texas,  riding  the  backbone  of  the  country, 
comes  the  Mexican  Central,  the  only  complete  trunk  line. 
Its  arras  are  yet  to  be  stretched  out,  for,  under  the  govern- 
ment concession,  a  branch  must  be  built  to  the  Pacific  and 
another  to  the  Atlantic.  The  managers  are  asking  for 
more  time  in  which  to  do  this  work.     These  branches  are 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   RAILROADS.  51 

to  traverse  a  fertile  and  densely  populated  region  that  onglit 
to  supply  a  profitable  business.  AVo  have  seen  that  rail- 
roads arc  an  important  assistance  to  the  government  in  pro- 
viding quick  transit  for  military  purposes,  and  the  authori- 
ties arc  naturally  anxious  to  have  these  lines  available  as 
soon  as  may  be.  The  year  1885  -was  a  hard  one  for  the 
Central  all  around.  The  road  suffered  severely  from  wash- 
outs, and  it  is  estimated  that  $40,000  will  be  required  to 
replace  the  track  as  it  was  before  the  rainy  season  brought 
disaster.     This  is  certainly  a  moderate  calculation. 

The  National  road  is  also  a  trunk  line — on  paper ;  but 
its  northern  and  main  division,  running  from  the  city  of 
Mexico  to  the  Texan  frontier  at  Laredo,  is  yet  to  be  com- 
pleted. The  cost  of  this  will  be  some  $0,000,000,  and  the 
line  is  expected  to  bring  the  capital  one  day  and  a  half 
nearer  New  York  than  it  is  by  the  Central.  The  Tacific 
division  of  the  National,  a  splendidly  built  property,  has 
advanced  beyond  the  city  of  Morclia,  and  traverses  a  most 
attractive  region  into  the  hot  country.  The  Pacific  branch 
of  the  Central  will  go  through  the  same  territory  tapped 
by  the  National,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  there  will  be  busi- 
ness cnou"-h  for  both  roads.  Both  will  reach  Guadala- 
jara,  a  large  city  that  is  famous  for  its  pottery  and  the 
manufacture  of  tiles,  and  whose  people  are  of  a  pushing  type. 

The  International  road  starts  from  Eagle  Pass  in  Texas 
and  reaches  to  Monclova  ;  the  projected  line  will  go  through 
the  Sabinus  coal-fields.  Tlioy  are  represented  as  being  very 
rich,  and,  if  so,  consumers  wait  anxiously  for  their  product. 
It  is  said  tliat  Mr.  Huntington,  who  controls  the  Inter- 
national, proposes  to  build  southwest  so  as  to  strike  the 
Central  track  at  Durango.  He  could  thus  furnisli  Mexico 
cheap  coal,  and  give  a  great  lift  to  the  iron  interests. 

The  Vera  Cruz  road  extends  from  the  city  of  Mexico 


52  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

to  the  old  port  after  -svliicli  it  is  named,  a  distance  of  204 
miles.  This  is  known  as  the  Mexican  raih'oad,  and  is  a 
wonder  of  engineering.  It  is  constructed  like  an  English 
road,  and  by  the  practice  of  sharp  economies  the  managers 
of  the  property  have  paid  their  stockholders  a  four-per- 
cent, serai-annual  dividend.  It  would  be  difficult  to  paral- 
lel in  any  other  land  the  scenery  sampled  by  this  railway, 
rising  as  it  does  from  the  brilliant-hued  vegetation  of  the 
hot  country  to  the  hardier  growths  and  more  moderate  col- 
oring found  at  a  height  of  8500  feet. 

The  fourth  existing  railroad  is  the  Interoceanic,  whose 
track  was  .planned  to  follow  straight  across  Mexico,  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Gulf,  as  nearly  as  is  feasible,  the  old  trail 
which  was  used  by  the  Chinese  trade.  Before  New  Eng- 
land civilization  had  reached  the  Connecticut  River,  the  old 
city  of  Acapulco,  which  is  to  be  the  western  terminus  of 
the  Interoceanic,  was  a  famous  place.  Thither  came  and 
thence  went  ships  from  and  to  the  East,  often  bearing 
cargoes  valued  at  $2,000,000.  Overland,  eastward  from 
Acapulco,  the  rich  freightage  was  borne  by  a  thousand 
mules  and  donkeys  to  the  city  of  Mexico  and  the  Atlantic 
port  of  Vera  Cruz,  where  ships  were  loaded  for  Spain. 
Silks,  muslins,  and  spices,  and  other  Eastern  goods  were  in 
common  use  in  Mexico  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 
The  old  galleons  carried  back  from  Acapulco  silver,  cochi- 
neal, cocoa,  and  other  native  products.  Nothing  more  viv- 
idly depicts  that  time  than  Bret  Harte's  "  Lost  Galleon :" 

"  In  sixteen  hundred  and  forty-one 
The  regular  yearly  galleon, 
Laden  with  odorous  gums  and  spice, 
India  cotton  and  India  rice, 
And  the  richest  silks  of  far  Cathay, 
Was  due  at  Acapulco  Bay. 


T- 


AGKlCULTUllE   AND   THE   RAILROADS.  65 

The  trains  were  wailing  outside  the  walls, 
The  wives  of  the  sailors  thronged  the  town, 
The  traders  sat  bj-  their  empty  stalls, 
And  the  Viceroy  himself  came  down; 
The  bells  in  the  town  were  all  atrip, 
Te  Deums  were  on  caeh  Father's  lip, 
The  limes  were  ripening  in  the  sun 
For  the  sick  of  the  coming  galleon. 

"All  in  vain.     Weeks  passed  away, 
And  yet  no  galleon  saw  the  bay ; 
India  goods  advanced  in  price ; 
Tlie  Governor  missed  his  favorite  spice ; 
The  senoritas  mourned  for  sandal 
And  the  famous  cottons  of  Coromandel ; 
And  some  for  an  absent  lover  lost, 
And  one  for  a  husband, — Donna  Julia, 
Wife  of  the  captain  tempest-tossed. 
In  circumstances  so  peculiar ; 
Even  the  Fathers,  unawares, 
Grumbled  a  little  at  their  prayers; 
And  ail  along  the  coast  that  year 
Votive  candles  were  scarce  and  dear." 

The  Mexican  government  lias  been  negotiating  with  tlio 
Flowery  Kingdom,  in  the  hope  of  reviving  the  glory  of 
that  ancient  commerce. 

V. 

The  railroads  of  Mexico  arc  largely  op- 
Novd  i-caturcB  iu      .    ^  ,      Americans.     The  trains  of  tho 

IJuilrondin^.  •' 

Central  and  National  lines  are  manned 
wholly  by  men  from  the  States.  The  Interoceanic  is  said 
to  be  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  Mexicans,  but  the  engineer 
on  the  train  by  which  we  passed  over  that  road  was  un- 
mistakably a  btan-fcd  Boston  boy.    lie  was  big  and  good- 


'U' 


56  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

natured,  claimed  to  be  very  mucli  in  love  with  this  coun- 
try, and  the  leisurely  progress  of  his  train  showed  that  he 
had  fallen  an  easy  victim  to  the  national  spirit. 

The  expenses  of  railroading  in  this  hot  climate  are  great. 
Wooden  ties  have  but  a  short  life,  cracking  in  the  dry  sea- 
son and  rotting  during  the  rainy  months;  bridge  timber 
and  piles  also  wear  out  rapidly.  Freight  cars  must  be 
painted  frequently  to  prevent  drying  and  cracking,  and 
oven  the  substantial  Pullman  cars  shrivel  under  this  ex- 
posure. Fuel  constitutes  a  large  item  of  outlay.  Mcsquit 
roots  are  burned  on  the  Central  road,  pine  cut  along  its 
route  is  used  on  the  Interoceanic,  and  the  Vera  Cruz 
company  feed  their  engines  coal  blocks  that  are  brought 
from  Wales  as  ballast.  The  decay  of  tics  will  in  time  ne- 
cessitate a  serious  outlay  on  the  Central  road,  for  wooden 
sleepers  cost  here  $1  each.  It  is  evident  that  iron  ties  are 
a  necessity  in  Mexico,  and  they  are  just  coming  into  use. 
The  climate  tends  to  preserve  the  rails  and  iron  bridges, 
provided  the  latter  escape  the  torrents  of  the  rainy  season. 

Engineers  command  better  wages  here  than  they  do  in 
the  United  States,  for  only  that  inducement  brings  them 
here.  The  general  staffs  of  the  roads  are  also  well  paid, 
but  the  section  hands,  Avho  are  peons,  work  for  small  wages. 
The  natural  and  proper  tendency  on  all  the  roads  is  to  cm- 
ploy  Mexicans  when  the  right  men  can  be  obtained.  This 
policy  helps  to  protect  the  property  of  outside  corpora- 
tions doing  business  here.  The  grades  on  the  railroads  are 
something  heroic,  and  the  task  of  constructing  road-beds 
in  this  mountainous  region  is  often  gigantic. 

The  trains  are  generally  and  even  generously  patronized. 
Wealthy  Mexicans  are  partial  to  the  Pullman  cars,  and  the 
second-class  conveyances  seem  to  be  always  filled.  It  has 
become  the  fashion  for  residents  in  the  interior  to  visit  the 


^m 


AGRICULTURE   AND   THE   RAILROADS.  57 

capital,  since  what  was  before  a  hard  journey  is  now  the 
work  of  a  dav  or  less,  and  the  hotels  and  restaurants  of 
the  city  find  their  business  greatly  increased  thereby.  The 
frciirhtinir  traffic  with  the  interior  cities  is  said  to  be  very 
good,  and  no  place  reached  by  the  roads  could  be  induced 
to  give  them  up.  In  railroading,  as  in  all  other  business 
enterprises  here,  the  arts  of  diplomacy  have  a  very  prac- 
tical value,  and  social  tact  and  pleasant  and  conciliatory 
methods  are  essential  to  the  best  success.  In  these  lines 
the  Vera  Cruz  road  is  handled  with  adroitness.  The  Cen- 
tral is  also  fortunate  in  having  as  its  local  head  General- 
Manager  Jackson.  He  is  not  only  an  accomplished  rail- 
road man,  who  knows  Mexico  through  a  twenty  years'  resi- 
dence, but  he  is  possessed  of  great  tact  and  social  address, 
and  is  said  to  be  the  finest  Castilian  scholar  in  the  capital. 
It  may  be  said  in  conclusion  of  the  railroads,  that  no 
passenger  has  ever  been  injured  on  cither  of  the  American 
lines,  the  Central  or  the  National. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TAXATION,   MIMNG,   AND    MILLS. 
I. 

Mexico's  system  of  taxation  gives  point 
[Jrcouutfj^IsTaxe^l.  t*^  ^(^^'^tov  Vance's  story  of  the  verdict 
rendered  by  the  Dutch  justice  in  North 
Carolina.  One  man  was  charged  with  having  bitten  off 
the  nose  of  anotlier,  and  the  case  was  but  too  clear.  Just 
before  old  Vanderhook  was  ready  to  give  his  verdict,  the 
defendant  called  liim  one  side.  "  Look  here,  old  man," 
he  whispered  to  the  Court,  "  you  know  I  own  a  mortgage 
on  your  house,  and  the  interest  is  due.  You  can't  pay  it. 
Now,  this  is  business.  If  you  find  me  guilty  of  biting  that 
man's  nose  off,  I  foreclose  to-morrow."  Vanderhook  re- 
sumed his  judicial  throne,  and  with  imperturbable  gravity 
announced  :  "  De  Coort  haf  found  de  prishoncr  nod  gcclty  !" 
A  hundred  voices  expostulated.  "  lie  and  I  were  the  only 
ones  in  the  room,  and  could  it  have  happened  if  he  didn't 
do  it?"  angrily  put  in  the  plaintiff.  " Shendlemens,  hold 
shust  von  minute,"  calmly  put  in  this  judicial  authority. 
"  De  Coort  baf  decided  fer  de  defendcnt.  Do  plaintiff  says 
he  must  haf  done  it,  fcr  dey  wer  de  only  two  en  de  room. 
De  Coort  is  of  opinion  that  in  de  hurry  of  de  fight  de 
plaintiff  might  have  bit  off  his  own  nose."  The  per- 
formance is  one  attended  with  difficultv,  but  Mexico  has 
done  it. 

To  run  the  gantlet  of  taxation — national,  state,  and  mu- 


TAXATION,  MLNIXG,  AND   MILLS.  59 

nicipal — is  a  very  serious  matter,  and  the  result  is  well-nigh 
fatal  to  industrial  and  business  enterprise.  One  or  two 
illustrations  will  tell  the  story.  The  man  who  bought  a 
stove  in  St.  Louis  and  brought  it  into  the  heart  of  Mexico 
paid  for  just  $90.99  worth  of  experience  of  tlie  taxation 
system.  TIic  stove  and  its  appurtenances  cost  $26.50  in 
St.  Louis,  and  by  the  time  it  had  reached  its  destination 
the  figures  had  grown  to  over  four  times  the  original  value 
— $117.49  being  the  sum  total  of  the  outlay  required  to 
secure  this  article.  The  miller  here  has  to  pay  thirty-two 
distinct  taxes  before  he  can  get  his  wheat  made  up  into 
flour  and  on  the  market.  Here  is  a  country  rich  in  special- 
tics  that  could  be  developed,  where  the  protection  idea  has 
run  mad,  and  all  hand*  labor  under  the  impression  that  the 
liiglier  the  taxes  the  greater  the  revenue,  and  the  result  is 
stagnation  and  a  series  of  official  robberies.  Real  estate 
practically  escapes  the  tax-gatherer,  whose  name  is  legion, 
and  he  pounces  on  every  move  that  can  be  made  in  traffic. 

IL 

_        .       ^.  The  federal  budget  for  1886-7— the 

The  National  Finnnces.  1       ■        t   i 

fiscal  year  begins  July  1 — has  been  re- 
ported by  President  Diaz  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
This  is  as  follows : 

Congress $1,052,144 

Executive  Department 49,'251 

Judiciary 434,892 

Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs 419,828 

"  Interior 3,539,304 

"  Justice 1,333,696 

"  Public  Works 4,711,771 

"  Finance 12,004,270 

War  and  Navy 12,404,500 

The  above  is  a  reduction  of  about  $3,000,000  over  last 
3 


rjy 


60  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

year's  budget;  nearly  a  million  dollars  will  be  saved  tlirough 
the  reduction  in  salaries  made  by  this  administration,  so  that 
about  $4,000,000  expresses  the  economies  projected.  The 
total  of  this  new  budget  is  about  $36,000,000,  and  the 
revenue  is  uncertain.  If  business  revives  the  receipts  may 
reach  $33,000,000,  and  the  government  will  aim  to  restrict 
the  expenditure  accordingly. 

The  custom-houses  yield  about  half  the  total  national 
revenue ;  the  stamp  taxes  foot  up  some  $4,000,000,  post- 
offices  and  telegraph  lines  $650,000,  lotteries  $800,000  ; 
while  the  receipts  from  the  states  amount  to  $7,500,000, 
or  about  half  the  sum  received  from  the  custom-houses. 

The  stamp  tax  is  an  omnipresent  nuisance;  it  includes 
stamps  for  documents  and  books,  for  merchandise,  and  for 
the  internal  revenue.  Certificates  of  stock,  contracts,  titles, 
tickets  of  all  description — railroad,  theatre,  and  so  on — all 
must  bear  a  stamp  ;  every  page  of  the  reports  of  meetings, 
each  leaf  of  a  merchant's  ledger,  day  or  cash-book,  or  pub- 
lic registers  must  bear  its  stamp ;  and  every  receipt  must 
be  stamped  with  a  one-cent  stamp  for  every  $20  or  frac- 
tion thereof  represented.  The  cigar  stores  sell  these  stamps 
that  are  necessary  to  every  transaction. 

III. 

Beneath  the  federal  system  every  state 

state  Levies,  aud  the   i         •■  i         i  i,*  i.  •        r 

Combined  Burden.  ^«^  ^^s  own  tax  levy,  which  varies  from 
year  to  year ;  the  federal  tax  takes  about 
a  quarter  of  the  tax  paid  to  the  state,  and  a  resident  fed- 
eral deputy  treasurer  looks  after  the  interests  of  the  gov- 
ernment. In  defiance  of  the  federal  constitution  the  pro- 
tection theor}'^  leads  states  to  set  up  their  own  custom- 
house system,  levying  a  state  tax  on  all  goods,  domestic  or 
foreign,  passing  their  borders ;  then  in  turn — and  quite  as 


TAX-VTIOX,  MIXING,  AND   MILLS.  61 

legitimately  —  the  towns  assess  all  goods  entering  them. 
Every  one  doing  business  must  respond  to  this  triple  de- 
mand, and  the  total  burden  amounts  to  almost  a  prohibi- 
tion of  trade  in  the  interior,  and  of  course  the  people  suf- 
fer for  all  this  aggregated  folly.  The  notion  of  protecting 
home  industry  is  thus  carried  to  exasperating  absurdity. 
The  merchant  who  brings  in  a  stock  of  cloth  pays  a  state 
tariff,  and  then  the  town  levies  again  at  the  rate  of  nine 
per  cent,  of  what  the  state  has  exacted.  All  industries  pay 
the  town  a  monthly  fee ;  each  beef  animal  leaving  town  is 
taxed  fifty  cents,  every  pig  twenty-five  cents,  and  so  on ; 
and  on  entering  another  town  the  same  plundering  process 
is  repeated.  All  this  has  been  going  on  for  years  without 
number,  and  is  a  legacy  of  Spanish  domination. 

Not  the  least  of  the  many  duties  that  confront  the  pro- 
gressive element  in  this  country  is  the  absolute  necessity 
that  exists  for  lifting  this  antiquated  yoke  of  taxation  off 
from  the  shoulders  of  the  people.  This  cannot  be  done  at 
once,  for  state  and  local  interests  arc  not  readily  fused  into 
a  sound  and  strong  national  life.  The  instinct  of  self-<rov- 
crnmcnt  is  too  generally  rooted  in  ancient  and  unprogres- 
sivc  customs  that  are  the  legacy  of  medievalism,  and  fed- 
eral union  as  we  practise  it  must  be  a  growth  dependent 
on  the  slow  rallying  of  many  fundamental  modern  forces. 
To  slay  the  army  of  petty  tax-gatherers  who  are  commis- 
sioned by  the  state  and  local  authorities,  and  to  assess  as 
wc  do  real  estate  and  personal  property,  to  reach  the  rich 
land  owners,  and  to  prevent  this  oppression  of  the  poor,  is 
a  task  as  delicate  as  it  is  gigantic.  Our  attempt  to  reform 
tlic  civil  scr\'ice  of  the  United  States  is  as  nothing  beside 
it.  We  can  confidently  appeal  to  the  good  sense  of  an  in- 
telligent, united  body  politic  ;  but  to  disturb  with  haste 
thi^  univri-sal  inequity  of  Mexican  taxation  would  be  to 


62  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

precipitate  revolution  and  bloodshed,  and  those  most  to 
be  benefited  by  the  reform  would  be  early  in  arms.  The 
truth  is  that  these  people  do  not  yet  know  the  a,  b,  c  of 
their  wrongs. 

IV. 

The  precious  metals  were  mined  and 

Mining  in  the  Past  and   iii-       i-i  j-      tvt-        -i     c 

Present  ^^'*^  ^"  ^^'S'^  regard  m  Mexico  before 

Columbus  set  foot  on  the  shores  of  the 
new  continent.  "When  Cortez  landed,  and  Montezuma 
looked  on  his  coming  with  superstitious  fear,  the  native 
monarch  sent  to  meet  the  advancing  adventurer  gold  and 
silver  gifts  of  such  richness  and  deftness  of  workmanship 
that  the  cupidity  of  the  Spaniards  was  inflamed  to  brutal 
ardor.  Bernal  Diaz,  one  of  the  invaders  who  afterwards 
returned  to  Spain  and  wrote  a  history  of  the  Conquest, 
tells  of  the  various  embassies :  the  first  bore  "  a  quantity 
of  gold  trinkets  of  beautiful  and  skilful  workmanship ;" 
another  deputation  was  accompanied  by  one  hundred  In- 
dian porters  laden  with  presents.  Diaz  wrote  of  "  a  round 
plate,  about  the  size  of  a  wagon-wheel,  representing  the 
sun,  the  whole  of  finest  gold,  and  of  the  most  beautiful 
workmanship,  a  most  extraordinary  work  of  art,"  etc. ; 
also  of  "  a  round  plate  even  larger  than  the  former,  of 
massive  silver,  representing  the  moon,  with  rays  and  other 
figures  on  it,  being  of  great  value ;"  again  of  a  "  casque, 
completely  filled  with  pure  grains  of  gold,  as  they  are 
found  in  the  mines ;"  and  of  "  thirty  golden  ducks,  ex- 
actly resembling  the  living  bird,  and  of  splendid  workman- 
ship," and  so  on.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  Cortez 
sent  back  to  the  king  of  Spain  some  seven  million  dol- 
lars' worth  of  gold  and  silver  prior  to  his  battles  with  the 
Aztecs;  but  these  figures  have  been  greatly  reduced  by 
the  most  careful  writers. 


TAXATIOX,  MIXING,  AXD  MILLS.  63 

The  evidence  is  pretty  conclusive  that  the  native  mining 
had  been  extensive,  fairly  scientific,  and  very  profitable. 
Iluinboldt  estimated  that  the  gold  and  silver  yield  of 
Mexico  from  1521  to  1804  amounted  to  $2,027,952,000; 
it  is  believed  that  from  1804  to  1848  the  total  product  of 
the  mines  was  at  least  $768,188,420;  while  from  1848 
to  1S85  the  mines  have  yielded  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$1,250,000,000,  or  enough  to  make  the  total  production 
of  Mexico  since  the  Conquest  above  $4,000,000,000  ! 

It  is  dazzling  to  play  with  lump  sums  like  this,  and  in 
view  of  the  inadequate  methods  that  prevail  in  manv  min- 
ing districts  of  this  country  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
make  glittering  predictions  about  the  money  that  is  to  be 
realized  in  mining.  But  such  sort  of  writing  is  wildly  de- 
lusive. There  is  undoubtedly  mining  property  that  can 
be  worked  to  advantage,  and  some  forty  American  compa- 
nies are  developing  their  ventures  at  this  time.  Each  hope- 
ful investor  is  confident  of  the  result,  and  let  us  hope  that 
success  may  crown  all ;  but  the  work  is  not  prosecuted  here 
under  so  favorable  conditions  as  are  found  in  the  United 
States,  and  prizes  are  not  abundant  thus  far.  Many  mines 
have  been  sunk  until  they  filled  with  water,  and  then  aban- 
doned— some  of  these  notably  rich  ones ;  but  expensive  ma- 
chinery, large  capital,  and  time  arc  required  to  work  such 
enterprises  to  advantage.  The  supply  of  silver  is  now 
chiefly  derived  from  the  mines  of  Guanajuato,  Zacatecas, 
Sombrereto,  Catorce,  and  Pachuca.  The  mining  laws  are 
commended  by  those  famihar  with  them,  but  I  notice  that 
most  American  owners  take  the  precaution  to  retain  as 
counsel  the  chief  local,  state,  or  municipal  official,  thus  se- 
curing special  privileges  and  ample  protection.  Foreign 
companies,  indeed,  arc  allowed  advantages  that  native  own- 
ers do  not  obtain.     The  mines  arc  in  the  hands  of  indi- 


64  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

viduals  and  not  of  the  government,  but  neglect  to  operate 
a  property  for  four  months  in  the  year  forfeits  it.  The 
mine  is  then  "  denounced,"  escheats  to  the  government, 
and  is  sold  at  auction.  The  Mexican  Central  Railroad  passes 
through  the  city  of  Zacatecas,  a  famous  mining  centre,  and 
the  tourist  can  advantageously  begin  his  study  of  the  min- 
ing interests  at  that  point. 

V. 

Mexico's    exports  are    $43,000,000    a 

^^'K^edpS  °^    y^^'"'  ^"^  ^'^''  "^'P^'"*"  ''^''^  ^^°"^  $40,000,- 
000.     The  government  presents  no  table 

of  imports,  and  this  calls  attention  to  a  lack  that  constant- 
ly confronts  one.  The  statistics  are  poor.  There  is  noth- 
ing approaching  our  census  system,  and  it  is  discouraging 
to  discover  that  the  same  figures  have  been  on  the  boards 
for  a  suspiciously  long  period  as  stock  actors.  The  state- 
ment that  places  the  population  at  ten  millions  is  not  the 
result  of  a  personal  enumeration,  and  estimates  of  the  size 
of  the  cities  vary  greatly ;  in  fact,  the  guess-work  that  en- 
ters into  all  these  matters  is  so  very  considerable  as  to 
make  definite  writing  next  to  impossible.  Still,  by  picking 
such  figures  as  the  known  facts  and  the  probabilities  favor, 
a  pretty  accurate  general  picture  may  be  painted. 

Those  well  informed  with  rcoard  to  trade  interests  ao-ree 
that  a  great  deal  of  smuggling  exists,  owing  to  the  high 
tariff  and  the  great  frontier  stretch  that  invites  law-break- 
ino;.  It  is  said  that  millions  more  of  American  cfoods  find 
their  way  into  Mexico  than  show  in  the  statistics  prepared 
by  either  government. 

No  one  can  escape  the  feeling  that  the  trade  of  Mexico 
belongs  to  the  United  States  by  right  of  propinquity,  and 
the  natural  highway  opened  upon  the  table-lands  between 


TAXATION',  MINING,  AND   MILLS.  C5 

the  two  republics — which  led  Baron  Humboldt  to  say  early 
in  this  century,  of  the  line  now  traversed  by  the  Central 
road,  that  "  four-wheeled  wacjons  can  travel  from  Mexico  to 
Santa  Fe."  Then,  too,  Mexico  and  the  United  States  com- 
plement each  other — the  one  furnisliing  tropical  products  of 
every  variety,  and  the  other  standincj  in  obvious  need  of  a 
wider  market  for  her  farminj;  implements,  mining  machin- 
ery, wagons,  paper,  clocks  and  watches,  and  the.thousand 
and  one  articles  of  invention  that  fill  the  American  mills 
and  warehouses.  Something  of  what  India  is  to  England, 
Mexico  could  be  and  ought  to  be  to  the  United  States.  It 
may  be  added  that  while  Germany,  England,  and  France 
have  so  long  largely  held  the  trade  of  Mexico,  tlicy  all  look 
with  ajiprehension  upon  the  proposed  reciprocity  treaty, 
and  some  of  the  largest  German  merchants  in  the  city  of 
Mexico  admit  that  the  advantages  for  the  future  are  indis- 
putably with  the  United  States.  Indeed,  to  such  men  the 
delay  of  Congress  in  ratifying  the  treaty  is  simply  unac- 
countable. They  entertain  hearty  contempt  for  a  House 
of  Representatives  that  can  dawdle  over  passing  political 
legislation  and  neglect  an  opportunity  to  secure  a  national 
advantage  which  is  to  be  bad  for  the  taking. 


vr. 

The  business  of  the  country  centres  in 
•°f  fi, 

Doeiucss. 


General  Fcatnrca  of    .,        ..        e  \t     •  ti  •  *•       i  i     41    *. 

the  city  of  Mexico.     It  is  noticeable  that 


the  large  houses  arc  conductocl  by  foreign- 
ers. The  great  wholesalers  or  merchant  princes  are  Ger- 
mans, with  a  few  English  houses.  It  is  interesting  to  note, 
also,  that  the  Americans  arc  beginning  to  press  the  Ger- 
mans on  hardware  and  miscellaneous  goods,  and  that  our 
manufacturers  arc  hurting  the  large  and  profitable  English 
trade  in  agricultural  implements.     There  is  no  reason  why 


66  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

the  local  prejudice  against  improved  machinery  should  not 
fade  away  before  the  intelligent  pushing  of  our  goods. 

It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  this  trade  must  be  specially 
and  patiently  catered  to.  Continental  business  methods 
prevail,  necessitating  a  courtesy  and  diplomacy  that  are  not 
always  easily  acquired  by  your  brisk  and  impudently  push- 
ing Yankee  of  the  commercial-traveller  stripe.  Thus,  the 
German  agent  drops  in  at  the  office  of  the  Mexican,  chats 
about  affairs  and  inquires  with  particularity  after  the  wel- 
fare of  the  person  addressed  and  that  of  his  family,  smokes 
a  cigarette  or  cigar  in  pleasant  unison  with  his  victim — and 
departs  without  having  broached  the  matter  of  business. 
The  Mexican  buyer  is  entertained,  and  invites  his  caller  to 
drop  in  again.  Thus,  by  gradual  approaches,  is  a  sale  con- 
summated, for  time  is  no  object  here.  The  Yankee  who 
brings  his  "  samples,"  opens  with  blustering  talk  about 
business,  and  appears  always  in  haste  "  to  catch  the  next 
train,"  is  a  dead  failure.  He  is  regarded  with  suspicion,  if 
not  irritation. 

The  matter  of  freighting,  too,  is  an  important  item. 
Mexicans  are  never  in  a  hurry  for  anything,  and  slow 
transportation  does  not  disconcert  them  in  the  least.  For- 
eign houses  also  take  special  pains  in  putting  up  goods 
to  add  no  unnecessary  weight,  while  Americans  pack  in 
thick  wooden  boxes  that  are  an  unnecessary  incubus  when 
goods  are  shipped,  for  the  interior,  and  often  have  to  be 
transported  by  mule-power.  When  the  reciprocity  treaty 
goes  into  effect  the  American  merchants  will  have  some 
things  to  learn  before  they  can  fully  command  here  the 
market  that  is  their  natural  right.  The  Mexican  merchant 
wants  a  price  given  that  will  include  freights  and  tariff — 
that  is,  what  the  goods  will  cost  delivered.  He  puts  off 
all  possible  personal  bother.     lie  is  good  pay,  but  is  often 


TAXATION,  MIXING,  AND   MILLS.  G7 

slow  in  settlinLT  up.  Bradstrect's  has  an  airciicv  in  tbo 
city,  and  tlic  standing  of  any  customer  can  bo  readily  as- 
certained in  New  York. 

vir. 

The  important  retail  stores  of  the  city 

Facts  about  the  Retail  ■,  j       •         i  j 

Tride.  — ^^^  goods,  jewelry,  and  so  on  —  arc 

kept  by  Frenchmen,  and  French  names 
abound  on  the  principal  shopping  avenue  of  the  city. 
Americans  do  not  go  into  retail  business,  but  act  as  com- 
mission merchants.  The  large  hotels  and  restaurants  are 
conducted  by  Italians  and  Frenchmen.  Banking  institu- 
tions are  managed  by  Spaniards,  Germans,  and  a  few  are 
in  the  hands  of  Englishmen.  There  is  said  to  be  room  here 
for  a  branch  of  some  large  New  York  or  Boston  banking 
establishment.  The  petty  retail  trade  naturally  falls  into 
the  hands  of  the  Mexicans,  but  old-country  Spaniards  arc 
also  engaged  in  it  in  a  larger  way.  They  arc  thrifty  and 
economical,  and  come  over  bent  on  money-making.  Until 
the  Central  Railroad  was  opened  all  the  better  class  of  paper 
came  from  France  and  Belgium,  while  the  coarser  qualities 
were  made  here.  There  seems  to  be  a  particularly  good 
opportunity  for  placing  in  the  capital  city  fine  Connecti- 
cut valley  stationery  and  book-paper.  At  present  the  Ger- 
man fancy  stationery  takes  the  lead  because  it  is  so  neatly 
put  up.  American  firearms  are  bought  at  the  border  by 
those  who  want  a  reliable  article,  but  it  appears  that  Span- 
ish makers  imitate  American  pistols  and  revolvers,  even  to 
the  brand.  This  is  true  in  particular  of  Colt's  make.  The 
finest  of  the  new  buildings  are  being  finished  with  Ameri- 
can wall-papers,  which  arc  deemed  better  than  those  of 
French  manufacture.  I  am  assured,  too,  that  American 
machinery  is  making  its  way,  though  much  that  is  sold 
comes  from  France  and  England. 

3* 


68  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

It  is  a  fact  that  some  of  the  German  •svliolcsalers  liere 
are  so  discouraged  over  the  prospect  as  to  talk  of  retiring 
from  the  field,  for  they  believe  that  the  Americans  are 
bound  to  come  to  the  front.  But  they  must  occupy  the 
field  honestly.  These  merchants  from  the  Continent  bring 
■with  them  an  old-fashioned  solidity,  and  shoddy  is  never 
tolerated  among  them.  The  shops  of  Mexico  would  not 
discredit  New  York  or  Boston,  and  the  Mexicans  know  the 
best.  To  send  dishonest  or  clumsy  goods  here  is  simple 
folly — and  it  has  been  indulged  in  by  American  houses  that 
know  less  about  Mexico  than  they  do  of  the  Sandwich  Isl- 
ands. In  the  shop-windows  may  be  noted  many  articles 
of  American  make,  even  the  German  merchants  displaying 
our  lamps,  which  surpass  their  own  in  finish  and  artistic 
quality.  The  American  commission  merchants  located  here 
talk  sensibly  about  the  future.  They  have  learned  much, 
have  camped  out  to  do  business,  and  are  succeeding.  The 
American  sewing-machine  is  here,  while  our  life-insurance 
companies  have  a  monopoly  of  this  field. 

Stores  and  houses  are  only  taxed  when  rented,  each  house- 
holder thus  paying  to  the  municipal  government  a  cer- 
tain percentage  on  his  lease.  This  is  another  mesh  in  the 
abominable  network  of  taxation  that  is  directed  with  a  view 
to  oppressing  the  people  at  every  possible  point. 

VIII. 
Manufacturing  is  an  old  story,  for  the 
Operatives.  ^""  Spaniards  found  that   cotton -cloth   had 
been  made  long  before  their  advent — per- 
haps it  was  produced  in  Mexico  as  early  as  in  any  country 
on  the  globe.     Artistic  bed-curtains,  and  cloth  in  figures 
and  colors  representing  animals  and  flowers,  were  among 
the  achievements  of  that  early  civilization.     The  govern- 


TAXATION,  MIXING,  AND  MILLS.  CO 

ment  makes  every  effort  to  nui-se  the  mills  of  the  country 
in  the  way  of  a  bonus  for  starting  and  protectionary  duties, 
but  nature  is  the  great  opposing  power.  Manufacturing  can 
never  prosper  naturally,  because  of  the  paucity  of  water  and 
fuel ;  and  when  it  is  stated  that  the  wood  used  in  firing  the 
furnaces  of  mills  costs  $15  a  cord,  the  situation  explains 
itself.  Not  even  the  great  cheapness  of  labor  can  over- 
come an  obstacle  like  this.  Steam  is  therefore  little  used 
in  the  factories,  and  the  water-power  is  all  too  limited  for 
any  extensive  development  of  manufacturing.  This  is  to 
the  direct  advantage  of  the  United  States.  The  number 
of  factories  of  all  kinds  in  the  republic  is  given  at  about 
one  hundred;  they  arc  valued  at  nearly  $10,000,000,  cm- 
ploy  in  the  neighborhood  of  13,000  hands,  and  contain 
250,500  spindles  and  9500  looms. 

The  ran"-c  of  manufacturing  covers  cotton  and  woollen 
goods,  the  coarser  paper,  flour,  hats  of  felt  and  straw,  leather 
work  of  all  kinds,  palm -leaf  work  —  matting,  baskets, 
brooms,  and  brushes;  silk,  furniture,  glass,  and  rope;  be- 
sides sugar,  chocolate,  indigo,  pottery,  and  tiles,  which  are 
peculiar  to  the  country.  The  Hercules  Cotton -mill  at 
Qucrctaro — the  capital  of  the  state  of  that  name,  and  one 
of  the  chief  cities  on  the  Mexican  Central  Uailroad — is 
the  largest  enterprise  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  It  cost 
$4,000,000,  employs  1400  operatives,  is  the  property  of  the 
Ilubio  fjimily,  and  produces  an  immense  quantity  of  manta, 
or  the  unbleached  cotton  which  is  universally  worn  by  the 
Indians. 

Mill  hands  average  about  $4.50  per  week  of  sixty  hours, 
while  the  bosses  are  paid  from  $9  to  $25  a  week.  The 
average  cost  of  living  to  the  laborers  in  the  cities  is  esti- 
mated at  about  25  cents  a  day ;  in  the  country  these  men 
live  on  from  12^  to  18  cents  a  day.     The  mill  operatives 


70  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

live  more  expensively,  and  many  of  the  superintendents 
and  bosses  are  Europeans,  who  command  what  we  should 
esteem  reasonably  good  wages.  The  workers  of  all  kinds, 
including  those  employed  in  the  factories,  display  very  lit- 
tle forehandedness ;  present  food  and  amusement  serve  to 
keep  out  the  hope  or  desire  for  a  better  future.  Still,  the 
intelligence,  orderly  habits,  and  pleasant  manners  of  the 
employees  of  the  cotton-mills,  sugar-houses,  and  even  the 
mines,  must  favorably  impress  the  visitor. 

There  are  profound  possibilities  in  this  peasant  class  that 
will  some  day  command  recognition.  This  race,  that  can 
subsist  decently  on  25  cents  a  day,  enters  the  industrial 
field  with  an  equipment  that  must  tell  in  time,  and  that  on 
their  native  soil  where  no  race  antagonisms  can  interfere 
with  their  progress. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   CITY    OF    MEXICO. 
I. 

Berkshire's  Greylock  Mountain  in  Mas- 

e     arm  o     opo-  gjj(;|jysetts  would  make  a  baby  foot-liill 

catapetl.  •' 

for  old  Popocatapetl,  tlie  volcano  of  our 
school-books,  the  hiijhcst  peak  of  Mexico,  the  heroic,  snow- 
crowned  monarch  of  this  northern  continent — the  one  3505 
feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  the  other  estimated  by  Hum- 
boldt at  17,716  feet,  and  reckoned  by  later  antliorities  at 
18,362!  This  city  is  itself  some  3000  feet  higher  than 
Mount  Washington,  on  whose  summit  the  signal  observers 
remain  in  winter  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  We  are  in  the 
latitude  of  the  desert  of  Sahara,  but  the  elevation  not  only 
makes  life  endurable,  but  imparts  its  own  delicious  and  novel 
zest.  The  valley  of  Mexico  is  encircled  by  a  noble  frame- 
work of  mountains,  of  which  the  hills  that  are  round  about 
Williarastown,  Mass.,  are  a  not  dissimilar  miniature.  But 
this  picture  is  extended,  and  seen  in  the  rarefied  atmosphere 
of  the  upper  regions — a  mighty  canvas  in  worthy  setting. 

The  valley  and  plain  lies  in  the  form  of  an  ellipse, 
some  45  miles  long  by  30  broad,  and  is  bounded  by  ir- 
regular mountain  ridges  and  volcanic  peaks  that  loom  up 
to  a  height  of  from  12,000  to  over  18,000  feet;  the  two 
dominant  summits,  Popocatapetl  and  Iztaccihuatl  (the 
White  Woman)  are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  These 
two  command  the  attention  of  the  tourist  on  bis  entrance 


72  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

into  the  city,  and  tliey  chain  it  to  the  day  of  his  departure. 
Rosy  with  the  morning  light,  golden  Avith  the  glow  of  even- 
ing, or  cool  and  restful  under  the  hot,  midday  sun — the 
marvel  of  every  change,  the  centre  of  each  scene,  the  eternal 
inspiration  of  the  landscape — one  looks  forever  towards 
"  the  hills  from  whence  cometh  our  strength."  No  acces- 
sible section  of  the  United  States  yields  impressions  so 
grand  or  so  lasting  as  they  produce ;  none  of  her  mountains 
are  comparable  in  kingly  dignity  with  these. 

11. 

The  alluring  scene  that  opened  before 

^''"'^'citT''  '""^    ^^'®  Spanish  conquerors  when,  on  their 
march  to  the  Aztec  capital,  they  paused 
on  the  summit  between  these  two  volcanic  mountains,  is 
thus  depicted  by  Prescott : 

"Its  picturesque  assemblage  of  water,  woodland,  and  cultivated 
plains,  its  shining  cities  and  shadowy  hills,  was  spread  out  like  some 
gay  and  gorgeous  panorama  before  them.  In  the  highly  rarefied  air 
even  remote  objects  have  a  brilliancy  of  coloring  and  a  distinctness  of 
outline  that  seem  to  annihilate  distance.  Stretching  far  away  at  their 
feet  were  seen  noble  forests  of  oak,  sj'camore,  and  cedar ;  and  beyond, 
yellow  fields  of  maize,  and  towering  maguey,  intermingled  with  or- 
chards and  blooming  gardens  ;  for  flowers,  in  such  demand  for  their 
religious  festivals,  were  even  more  abundant  in  this  populous  valley 
than  in  other  parts  of  Anahuac.  In  the  centre  of  the  great  basin 
were  beheld  the  lakes,  occupying  then  a  much  larger  portion  of  its 
surface  than  at  present ;  tlieir  borders  thickly  studded  with  towns 
and  hamlets  ;  in  the  midst — like  some  Indian  empress  with  her  coronal 
of  pearls — the  fair  city  of  Mexico,  with  her  white  towers  and  pyramidal 
temples  reposing,  as  it  were,  on  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  the  far-famed 
'  Venice  of  the  Aztecs.'  " 

The  outlines  of  the  picture  are  the  same  now  as  then, 
but  the  details  arc  changed  somewhat;  the  invaders  stripped 
the  valley  of  its  forests,  until  only  the  stately  and  magnifi- 


"3 
O 
O 
> 

> 

K 
H 


THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO.  "75 

cent  grove  of  Chapultepcc  reinains.  The  lakes  number 
six,  the  largest  being  Texcoco,  Avhich  has  received  the  over- 
flow of  the  others.  Its  water  is  salt,  the  highest  body  of  the 
kind  in  the  world.  Two  of  these  lakes  are  of  fresh  water, 
and  raust  be  about  as  high  as  the  great  body  of  water  in 
Yellowstone  Park.  In  this  level  valley  one  sees  little  of  the 
lakes,  unless  journeying  out  of  the  city,  but  ducks  Avithout 
number,  visitors  from  the  North,  lluttcr  over  their  surface 
at  this  season,  and  invite  the  sportsman  to  his  work  of  de- 
struction. 

The  ancient  capital  was  destroyed  by  that  ruthless  vandal, 
Cortez,  and  he  was  short-sighted  enough  to  rear  the  modern 
city  on  the  old  site,  when  the  rebuilding  ought  to  have 
been  done  on  higher  ground.  There  was  plenty  of  such 
available.  The  mistake  was  recognized  in  Spain,  but  too 
late,  and  it  involved  an  expensive  system  of  causeways  and 
dikes  that  did  not  suffice  their  purpose,  as  five  great  inunda- 
tions, the  last  in  1634,  attest. 

That  blunder  is  to-day  the  chief  drawback  to  this  beau- 
tiful capital  city,  which  has  a  population  of  over  300,000  and 
is  about  the  size  of  St.  Louis.  The  Aztec  superstition  that 
led  them  to  build  in  a  swamp  may  be  pardoned,  but  the 
folly  of  Cortez  admits  of  no  palliation.  To  him  must 
be  primarily  attributed  a  death-rate  double  that  of  Bos- 
ton, and  mostly  due  to  filth  diseases.  The  people  have 
been  strangely  slow  on  their  part  about  introducing  an 
adequate  system  of  drainage,  though  Congress  has  at  last 
passed  the  legislation  necessary  to  carry  out  one  of  the 
many  propositions  to  this  end  that  have  long  been  consid- 
ered. Thorough  drainage  will  make  this  city  one  of  the 
most  attractive  places  in  the  world. 

This  is  classic  America,  the  home  of  the  original  Western 
civilization.     Here   are   new   places  and   new   sights;    an 


76  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

equable  and  salubrious  winter  climate,  above  fogs  and  out 
of  the  range  of  storms ;  a  state  of  society  equal  in  pict- 
uresqueness  to  any  tbat  the  Old  World  can  offer ;  a  scenery 
grand  with  mountains,  gorgeous  with  luxuriant  vegetation, 
and  beautiful  with  a  wealth  of  flowers  so  lavish  that  calla- 
lilies  lie  unplucked  in  the  swamps — and  all  to  be  seen  under 
a  sky  like  that  of  Italy,  and  enjoyed  from  a  city  where  one 
can  be  as  well  cared  for  as  in  Washington  or  Paris,  This 
little  Europe  at  our  doors  entails  no  sea  voyage,  and  the 
journey  thither  is  made  with  less  discomfort  than  would 
be  experienced  on  the  Continent. 

III. 

All  the  Spanish-American  cities  are  laid 

The  Plaza  Mayor  and        ,  .1  1  rpi  •  i  j 

Noble  Cathedral.  »"t  ^n  the  same  plan.  The  wide-paved 
streets  cross  each  other  at  right  anoles 
and  terminate  in  a  great  square  or  plaza.  This  contains 
always  the  church  or  cathedral  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  the  government  building  or  palace.  To  command  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  city  of  Mexico  it  is  customary  for  the 
tourist  to  begin  his  observations  at  the  Plaza  Mayor,  the 
great  central  square,  by  ascending  the  tower  of  the  cathe- 
dral. AVe  are  but  following  the  habit  of  long  ago,  for  this 
was  the  site  of  the  Aztec  teocalli,  or  temple  of  sacrifice,  up 
whose  steps  Montezuma  led  Cortez,  and,  taking  him  by  the 
hand,  pointed  out  the  beauties  of  the  city  that  the  Spaniard 
was  to  make  desolate.  This  is  indeed  historic  ground,  for 
the  view  that  we  are  soon  to  enjoy  will  call  up  chapter  after 
chapter  from  the  past — local  figures  without  number,  and 
some  that  will  touch  us  more  nearly,  for  Scott  and  Worth, 
and  Lieutenant  U.  S.  Grant,  and  the  ill-fated  Maximilian 
played  their  parts  here  within  easy  sight  from  the  tower ; 
and  on  this  great  square,  too,  where  once  entered  Cortez 


ENVIRONS  OF  THE   CITY, 


THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO.  79 

and  his  army,  General  WinficlJ  Scott  massed  Ills  victorious 
soldiers  in  1S47. 

But  no  traveller  ever  ascends  the  tower,  be  his  resolution 
over  so  strong,  without  first  examining  with  more  or  less 
care  this  largest  cathedral  of  North  America,  and  one  of  the 
grandest  buildings  to  be  seen  anywhere.  The  edifice,  begun 
in  1573,  was  nearly  a  hundred  years  in  process  of  erection, 
being  completed  in  1667  at  a  cost  of  little  less  than  two 
millions  of  dollars.  Its  symmetrical  and  reposeful  archi- 
tecture was  after  the  best  plans  that  Spain  could  offer ;  it 
occupies  the  northern  side  of  the  square,  is  of  the  form  of 
the  cross,  426  feet  long,  200  wide,  and  175  feet  high  at  the 
dome,  and  its  massive  twin  towers  rise  to  an  altitude  of  200 
feet. 

The  vast  interior  effect  is  solemnizing,  though  its  splendid 
ornamentation  has  suffered  from  a  long  series  of  plundcr- 
ings.  The  higli  altar,  once  the  richest  in  the  world,  is  yet 
a  most  imposing  mass  of  dazzling  gilding,  thougli  the  can- 
dlestick of  gold  that  one  man  could  not  lift,  its  golden 
chalices  and  pyxes  studded  with  precious  stones,  and  the 
golden  censers,  crosses,  and  statues  have  mostly  fallen  a 
prey  to  heretic  and  knavish  hands.  The  decline  of  the 
Church  is  sadly  evidenced  here. 

There  arc  five  naves,  six  altars,  and  fourteen  chapels,  and 
here,  too,  are  the  bones  of  some  of  the  departed  viceroys 
and  great  men  of  Mexico,  among  them  the  remains  of 
Emperor  Iturbide.  lie  was  Colonel  Augustine  Iturbide  in 
1820,  who  joined  with  Guerrero  to  declare  the  independence 
of  Mexico  in  1821,  and  the  next  year  had  himself  proclaimed 
emperor;  Santa  Anna  led  the  people  against  this  usurper, 
whose  "  reign  "  lasted  nine  months,  and  who  was  shot  under 
sentence  of  the  new  government  in  1823.  The  palace  of 
the  "  emperor  "  is  now  a  favorite  hotel.     But  this  has  taken 


80  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

us  out  of  llic  cathedral  and  back  over  tlie  years,  for  tlio 
temptation  to  digression  lurlcs  in  every  nook  and  cranny 
of  this  rare  old  town.     There  fre  paintings  on  these  walls 
that  invite  to  careful  study,  some  of  them  credited  to  Murillo. 
This  has  been  a  treasure-house  of  costly  art,  for  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  exacted  the  best  that  Mexico  could  pro- 
duce, and  it  was  rich  enough  to  command  the  choicest  pro- 
ductions of  Spain  and  of  China.    The  missing  statue  of  the 
Assumption  was  of  gold,  ornamented  with  diamonds,  and 
is  said  to  have  been  valued  at  $1,090,000.     What  is  told 
of  the  ancient  glory  of  this  cathedral  reads  like  a  chapter 
from  the  "  Arabian  Nights,"  and  what  is  still  here  sur- 
passes the  decorations  in  any  American  cathedral  or  church. 
This  is  a  superb  memorial  of  that  time  when  the  power 
of  the  Church  was  expressed  by  the  fact  that  she  possessed 
two  thirds  of  the  entire  wealth  of  Mexico.     The  great  ca- 
thedral is  always  open  and  priestly  ministrations  continue; 
but  it  is  no  longer  a  national  shrine,  the  kneeling  worship- 
pers are  women,  with  here  and  there  a  battered  and  tattered 
ancient  male  Indian  figure.     The  men  of  the  army  and  of 
affairs  seldom  or  never  come  in  hither.     Outside  of  these 
doors  the  priest  must  doff  all  evidences  of  his  calling,  and 
even  then  he  is  not  always  free  from  insult.    To  such  extreme 
lengths  has  the  national  reaction  proceeded  that  even  this 
ancient  cathedral — begun  about  a  century  before  the  Pil- 
grims landed  in  New  England — is  occupied  by  the  Roman 
Catholics  only  by  the  sufferance  of  the  liberal  government. 
It  is  against  the  law  for  the  Church  to  hold  property,  and 
it  can  acquire  it  only  through  individual  decoys  and  by 
stealth. 


THE   CITY   OF   MEXICO.  81 

IV. 

But  let  us  to  the  tower  view.     A  pull 
A  Bird's-eye  View  of     .   .1       i  •>.  .  1 

th  Town  '    ^  *^  causes  it  to  open  as  by  magic, 

persuaded  by  a  rope  wielded  from  tlie 
tower,  and  we  toil  up  the  stone  steps  until  they  seem 
never-ending,  like  the  ascent  of  Bunker  Ilill  or  Washing- 
ton monuments.  Near  the  top  a  woman  keeper,  who  is 
surrounded  by  the  usual  Mexican  brood  of  children,  ex- 
tracts a  fee  of  one  real  (12-^  cents).  The  picture  that  lies 
at  our  feet  as  we  pass  under  the  ancient  bell  with  its  dim 
dedicatory  inscription,  and  to  the  front  of  the  tower  balcony, 
is  royal  in  extent  and  fascinating  in  detail.  The  environ- 
ment, that  we  already  know,  is  without  an  equal  that  I  ever 
read  of ;  and  the  city  is  here  seen  at  its  best.  It  stretches 
away  all  about  us,  its  limits  equidistant  in  every  direction, 
for  this  is  the  very  heart  of  the  town. 

This  is  no  semi-savage  city,  but  a  splendid  capital  easily 
comparable  with  the  finest  cities  of  Europe;  it  recalls 
many,  but  repeats  none,  and  the  Eastern  color  that  charac- 
terizes the  local  life  gives  it  a  hint  of  all  peoples  and  every 
land.  For  a  mile  away  stretch  the  flat  roofs,  and  the  domes 
of  churches  are  so  frequent  that  one  tires  of  counting  them. 
The  sun  glares  with  blinding  brilliance  through  the  thin 
air,  and  each  object  within  the  range  of  the  vision  stands 
out  with  the  sharp  outline  of  the  silhouette. 

After  sweeping  the  rampart  of  mountains  the  eye  nar- 
rows the  circle  and  surveys  the  liomcs  of  the  people.  The 
houses  are  built  in  squares  or  blocks  six  hundred  feet  in 
length,  with  solid  walls  and  flat  stone  roofs,  all  apparently 
after  the  same  pattern,  and  each  dwelling  around  a  patio  or 
court  that  is  open  to  the  sky.  Thus  is  each  man's  house 
in  a  peculiar  sense  his  castle.     The  great  doorway  from 


82  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

the  street  is  always  attended  by  a  porter  who  lives  per- 
petually on  guard  in  the  lower  court.  This  is  flagged  with 
stone  and  surrounded  by  the  stables  and  quarters  of  the 
servants.  Above  are  usually  two  ranges  of  living  and  sleep- 
ing-rooms, fronted  by  corridors  and  ornamented  by  iron 
balustrades.  Very  often  a  fountain  plashes  in  the  court 
that  the  day  fills  with  sunshine,  flowers  and  vines  trail  in  a 
luxuriant  network  up  and  down  the  balconies,  and  palms 
lend  their  deep  green  for  a  groundwork.  Above  the  house 
the  roof-top,  or  azotea,  offers  an  evening  retreat  that  is 
fanned  by  cool  breezes  and  curtained  by  the  far-away  sky. 
So  pleasant  and  attractive  and  individual  is  the  home-life 
of  Mexico,  it  is  said  that  Mexican  girls  seldom  care  to  wed 
foreigners  who  would  take  them  away  from  this  city  of  their 
adoration.  Do  you  wonder  at  it  ? 
Sensible  girls,  indeed,  are  these  ! 

V. 

We  are  fronting  to  the  south.     Below, 

Features  that  ludi-     •      .■,  .  j.  ,  i  ■     ii      ry        i 

viduaiize  the  City.  ^"  ^"®  centre  of  the  square,  is  the  Zocalo, 
or  pleasure-garden,  glowing  green  in  the 
near  landscape  of  stone ;  in  its  centre  is  a  music-stand, 
where  the  military  bands  often  play ;  and  disposed  about 
in  artistic  harmony  are  tall  trees,  flowers,  and  statues.  Near 
at  hand  is  the  city  flower-market,  a  graceful  iron  structure, 
where  the  spoils  of  this  eternal  summer  are  brought  each 
morning  from  all  the  region  about — the  pleasantest  spot  in 
the  city,  for  such  blossoms  are  not  known  to  your  sordid 
Northern  soil,  and  they  are  as  cheap  as  they  are  profuse. 
A  mass  composed  of  all  the  flowers  you  know,  such  as  would 
cost  at  least  $10  in  the  United  States,  may  be  had  for  half 
a  dollar,  or  for  25  cents  if  the  buyer  be  anything  of 
an   expert   at   dickering.     The    visitor    can   luxuriate   in 


c 


i 


THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO.  85 

flowers  and  yet  not  be   extravagant,  according  to   your 
standards. 

But  all  this  while  the  life  of  the  city  has  swirled  and 
eddied  below  us.  Across  the  square  and  fronting  north  is 
the  municipal  palace,  or  the  building  occupied  by  the  local 
government.  An  arcade  supports  its  first  story  and  shel- 
ters within  and  without  a  long  array  of  shops  and  traders 
that  continue  around  the  square  to  the  west.  The  feminine 
beauty  and  fashion  of  the  city  is  to  be  encountered  there 
during  these  morning  shopping-hours,  and  it  is  worth  see- 
ing. The  ladies  are  in  black,  and  the  mantilla  is  much  worn 
on  shopping  expeditions,  that  bewitching  device  for  height- 
ening the  effect  of  an  olive,  velvety  skin  and  glorious  eyes. 
It  is  not  safe  to  presume  that  these  visions  of  beauty  do  not 
understand  English,  for  here  as  in  the  United  States  ac- 
quirement is  more  general  among  the  young  women  than 
w  ith  the  young  men,  and  the  tourist  who  involuntarily  ex- 
claimed when  the  vision  of  the  acknowledged  beauty  of  the 
city  burst  on  him  around  a  corner  detected  an  amused 
twinkle  in  her  flashing  eyes.  To  stare  at  a  pretty  girl  here 
is  to  pay  her  a  high  compliment,  which  is  one  of  the  fortu- 
nate provisions  of  the  country.  It  is  a  pity  that  Paris 
fashions  arc  now  the  rage,  for  the  Spanish  costumes  are 
being  crowded  to  the  wall. 

The  eastern  boundary  of  the  s(]uare  is  occupied  by  the 
national  palace,  the  largest  building  in  Mexico,  a  low 
marble  structure,  said  to  be  TOO  feet  long,  with  no  pre- 
tensions to  architectural  grace,  but  possessing  a  solid  dig- 
nity nut  always  appreciated  by  those  wonted  to  its  outlines. 
The  inside  features  arc  striking  and  various.  Here  is 
where  the  Senate  meets,  the  cabinet  officers  have  their 
quarters,  and  the  administration  is  at  home — the  House  of 
llcprcscntatives  gather  in  a  dingy  theatre  in  another  part 


86  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

of  tlie  city — and  here  is  the  great  ambassadors'  hall,  310 
by  30  feet,  with  a  throne  at  the  southern  end  for  the 
president  and  his  cabinet;  here  are  Maximilian's  state 
coach,  the  meteorological  observatory,  a  botanical  garden, 
the  national  museum,  the  treasury  of  the  nation  and  its 
archives,  the  soldiers,  and  so  on.  AVe  have  but  space  to 
hint  at  attractions  that  should  be  given  more  intimate  at- 
tention. An  important  building  on  the  west  side  of  the 
square  is  the  big  government  pawn-shop.  This  completes 
our  swift  circuit  of  the  plaza. 

In  the  western  part  of  the  city  lies  the  Alameda,  the 
forest  garden  of  the  capital,  older  than  the  Zocalo,  which 
latter  I  believe  unhappy  Carlotta  laid  out  in  its  present 
form.  This  larger  spot  of  seductive  green  is  but  one  of  a 
hundred  suggestions  of  interest  that  fix  the  attention  and 
pique  our  Northern  curiosity. 


CHAPTER  Yir. 

STREET    SCENES    AND    SUGGESTIONS. 
I. 

The   weather,  and       ^^  ^^^"^^  ^^range  cnougli  to  have  the 
the  nriiiiaiu  Na-  wcatbcr  rcirarded  as  a  "  chestnut "  that 

lioual  Costumes.  ^ 

must  be  discarded  from  conversation. 
Each  day  opens  serene,  cloudless,  and  abounding  in  that 
inspiriting  quality  that  makes  an  October  morning  on  the 
hills  of  western  Massachusetts  the  perfection  of  living. 
The  early  morning  and  evening  usually  bring  just  enough 
sting  to  brace  the  system,  while  midday  warms  one  to  the 
marrow.  Of  course  there  are  no  fires  anywhere,  but  this 
absence  is  only  felt  on  rare  occasions,  and  then  a  heavy 
\vr;i])  brings  solace. 

Here  one  can  appreciate  that  painful  laclc  of  color  which 
is  a  chief  want  of  our  new,  raw,  and  sombre  life — in  sec- 
inc:  the  britjht  thinsr  that  Oscar  ^Yilde  soui^ht  to  transplant 
under  the  gray  skies  and  into  the  nuiddy  streets  and  dingy 
buildinjxs  of  London,  lie  had  borrowed  a  thouo;ht,  thouirh 
the  world  forgot  it  in  contemplating  the  individual. 

It  often  seems  as  if  the  sense  of  color  had  been  abso- 
lutely killed  out  by  the  conventionalism  of  English  and 
American  life;  but,  as  one  sees  it  Hash  all  over  this  coun- 
try, it  is  with  keen  regret  that  ho  discovers  that  European 
fjishions  are  already  effacing  the  picturesque  old  for  the 
dull  tints  of  the  universal  new.  The  native  dress,  in  its 
most  brilliant  manifestation,  is  a  thing   of  rare  beauty. 


90  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

After  enjoying  the  spectacle  of  a  country  gentleman  ar- 
rayed in  his  best,  the  sight  of  government  officials  and 
business  and  professional  men  of  this  city  in  European 
dress  is  simply  exasperating.  The  one  pleases  and  satis- 
fies the  eye ;  the  other  is  a  pattern  of  commonplace  ugli- 
ness. 

The  hacendado  on  horseback  is  a  picture  usually  con- 
scious of  itself,  for  these  fellows  are  born  dandies,  and 
both  man  and  animal  are  full  of  prancing  life.  The  horses 
are  noble  creatures,  whose  chests  have  been  magnificently 
developed  by  the  rarefied  air,  and  the  rider  is  athletic  and 
a  born  horseman.  He  wears  a  suit  of  black  cloth  ;  a  short, 
nattily-cut  jacket  with  big  silver  buttons;  a  low-cut  waist- 
coat, or  more  often  none,  to  hide  his  delicate,  snowy,  and 
frilled  shirts ;  tight  pantaloons  that  bear  along  the  outer 
scams  two  rows  of  fancy  silver  buttons ;  high-heeled  and 
usually  top  boots  that  end  in  silver  spurs ;  and  a  faja,  or 
sash,  of  red  and  other  brilliant  color  to  bind  the  -waist. 
Over  the  shoulder,  or  across  the  saddle,  which  is  a  most 
ornamental  affair,  is  carried  the  bright  scrape  that  looks 
like  an  immense  Roman  scarf.  The  hat  completes  the 
picture,  and  the  ample  proportions  of  that  put  ridicule 
upon  the  meagre  head-coverings  of  the  North. 

The  only  fault  to  be  found  with  the  felt  sombrero  is  its 
weight ;  but,  for  some  occult  reason,  it  never  seems  bur- 
densome in  the  wearing.  Buffalo  Bill's  hats  are  a  libel  on 
the  genuine  Mexican  article.  His  wide  brim  is  all  right, 
but  this  crown  rises  to  a  dignity  and  comeliness  much  like 
that  which  characterized  the  head-gear  of  the  Puritans. 
But  while  the  early  settler  of  New  England  restricted  him- 
self to  sober  black,  the  Mexican  indulges  in  all  colors,  from 
a  beautiful  silver  gray,  through  browns,  to  a  gorgeous  pur- 
ple.   The  crown  is  encircled  by  a  silver  or  gold  cord,  often 


STREET  SCENES  AND   SUGGESTIONS.  91 

in  tlircc  or  even  four  colls,  and  tlic  biim  is  embroidered 
with  a  wealth  of  silver  or  gold  trimming.  Straw  hats  are 
of  similar  shape,  and  provided  with  puffed  bands  of  the 
same  material. 

II. 

The  Mexican  dandy  is  one  thing,  and 

How  the  Indians       .1  i-r         r   ii  1       •  ^       u^ 

,  , .  the  average  life   of  the   people   is  quite 

Dress  nud  Live.  "  111 

another ;  but  the  tendency  to  hang  col- 
ored banners  upon  the  outer  walls  of  the  national  life  is 
the  same  in  all  classes. 

The  Indians  or  peasantry  wear  white  cotton  shirts  and 
trousers,  that  contrast  well  with  their  brown  skins,  and 
straw  hats.  They  all  carry  the  scrape  or  blanket  that  is  a 
necessity  for  the  early  morning  and  evening,  and  this  is 
always  brilliant-hued.  The  costume  of  the  women  is 
equally  simple — generally  a  white  waist  and  skirt,  with  a 
sliawl  called  a  rcboso.  Gay  colors  are  frequently  affected 
in  the  petticoats  and  rebosos,  and  the  passion  for  gewgaws 
and  cheap  jewelry  betrays  a  universal  feminine  weakness. 
Both  sexes  wear  sandals  of  rawhide,  and  while  the  women 
most  frequently  cover  their  heads  with  the  shawl,  they  are 
often  hatted  like  the  men. 

These  people  live  cheaply,  and  also  very  informally  in 
many  ways.  The  climate  is  on  their  side,  as  its  mildness 
necessitates  much  less  in  the  way  of  food,  clothing,  fuel, 
and  shelter  than  with  you.  The  scale  of  their  life  is 
Bomcthing  between  the  luxuries  of  your  civilization  and 
the  vicissitudes  of  Indian  experience  in  the  West;  and  far 
inferior  to  the  comforts  of  the  old  slave-days  of  the  South. 
The  idea  of  home-life,  as  you  know  it,  is  wanting.  The 
independent  house  is  unknown  to  the  laborer  of  the  cities, 
whose  room  or  rooms  are  on  the  ground-floor,  where  (here 
is  little  light  and  practically  no  ventilation,  in  the  sub- 
4 


92  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

urbs  of  this  city  and  in  the  country  the  Indians  usually 
own  their  adobe  and  mud  dwellings  or  cabins. 

It  is  a  strange  domestic  life  which  every  street  stroller 
can  contemplate  in  all  its  details.  The  common  laborers 
use  neither  chairs,  tables,  nor  beds,  the  substitute  for  the 
latter  being  rolls  of  rush  matting ;  these  rooms  are  very 
full  of  life,  but  they  are  bare  of  furniture ;  a  variety  of 
earthen  vessels  hold  the  family  food  and  drint,  and  during 
the  morning  hours  the  women  are  uuiversally  occupied  in 
grinding  out  corn  on  a  raetate,  or  flat  stone.  This  is  a  labo- 
rious preliminary  to  the  preparation  of  the  tortilla,  or  Indian 
bread,  that  is  eaten  with  frijoles,  or  boiled  brown  beans, 
and  meat  broiled  or  fried — when  the  latter  can  be  afforded. 
A  not  unpalatable  sauce,  concocted  out  of  lard,  red  pepper, 
onions,  and  cheese,  is  a  prized  accompaniment. 

The  Indians  are  not  unhappy  in  their  primitive  and  in- 
adequate accommodations,  but  they  need  better  things. 
To  live  on  an  undrained  dirt  floor,  in  an  unventilated  room, 
above  the  swamp  that  underlies  all  this  city,  and  amid  tho 
sharp  daily  changes  of  even  a  mild  climate,  is  to  invite  tho 
grim  destroyer.  He  comes  very  frequently  in  the  form  of 
pneumonia,  as  might  be  expected.  It  is  pleasant  to  note 
that  improved  tenements  are  now  being  built,  which  will 
bring  the  laborer  nearer  to  the  comforts  possessed  by 
those  whom  he  serves  so  faithfully.  The  new  tenements 
have  wooden  floors  raised  several  feet  above  the  ground, 
are  neat,  light,  and  airy,  and  open  upon  courts  that  are 
paved,  drained,  and  supplied  witli  water. 


STREET  SCENES  AND   SUGGESTIONS.  95 

III. 

Water-carriers,  Beg-  1'^^^  strcct  life  of  this  city  is  cosino- 
gars,  aud  Lottery-  politan,  but  essentially  Eastern  in  many 
venders.  ^£  j^^  features.     The  aguador,  or  water- 

carrier,  is  a  more  familiar  figure  lioro  than  is  the  letter- 
carrier  who  flits  about  a  Northern  city,  and  he  is  also  a 
more  essential  public  servant.  The  aguador  mi:;ht  have 
stepped  out  from  a  canvas  scene  of  far-away  Syria,  lie 
•wears  a  kind  of  leather  armor  that  encircles  two  great  jars 
depending  from  the  head,  one  before  and  the  other  behind, 
and  is  the  source  of  the  household  water-supply.  The 
•water  of  the  city  is  brought  over  the  mammoth  aqueducts 
into  the  public  fountains,  and  thence  it  must  be  obtained 
for  domestic  use. 

The  aguador  serves  alike  the  just  and  the  unjust,  and  he 
is  too  busy  to  be  anything  but  an  honest  fellow,  who  speed- 
ily becomes  a  very  accomplished  and  popular  gossip.  The 
Indian  trait  of  feudal  fidelity  to  places  and  the  ancient 
customs  appears  in  these  water-carriers,  who  are  in  love 
with  their  labor  and  never  dream  that  they  lag  superfluous 
on  the  stage  as  a  mighty  poor  makeshift  for  the  all-per- 
vading modern  water-pipe.  They  keep  out  the  plumber, 
to  be  sure  ;  but  that  lord  of  the  North  would  be  a  very 
harmless  individual  in  a  country  where  Jack  Frost  never 
intrudes  in  any  serious  way. 

Beggars  are  as  plenty  as  fleas,  and  the  foreigner  is  made 
the  victim  of  both  pests.  The  flea  enforces  his  claims  with 
a  pair  of  sharp  nippers,  and  the  mendicant  would  like  to 
do  likewise  ;  the  former  is  principally  felt,  and  the  latter 
is  always  seen.  Every  corner,  well-nigh  each  step,  brings 
a  pitiable  applicant  for  alms,  and  one  speedily  observes 
that  blindness  is  exceedingly  common  in  this  rarefied  air 


96 


MEXICO    OF   TO-DAY. 


CHARACTEKISTIC  SHOP-FRONTS, 


and  blinding  liglit,  insomuch  that  extraordinary  precau- 
tions are  necessary  to  protect  the  eyes. 

In  going  from  brilliantly-lighted  theatres  into  the  night 
air  pleasure-seekers  cover  their  eyes  for  a  season  so  as  to 
make  the  readjustment  less  trying.  Those  havino-  weak- 
ness of  the  eyes  may  well  exercise  great  caution  in  coming 
to  Mexico,  and  the  least  that  they  can  do  will  be  to  fore- 
go reading  in  the  cars. 

It  is  noticeable  that  no  law  of  the  street  prevails ;  pe- 
destrians do  not  turn  to  the  right  as  with  you,  for  this  is 
a  "  go-as-you-please "  place.     Each  person  looks  out  for 


STREET  SCENES  AND  SUGGESTIONS.  97 

liimself  or  Lerself,  dodging  now  this  way  aud  now  that. 
All  evidence  of  caste  vanishes  on  tlie  sidewalk,  and  no 
beggar  or  servant  gives  you  any  right  of  way  ;  in  this 
much  wc  are  as  sturdily  democratic  as  an  American  caucus. 
The  venders  of  lottery-tickets,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, are  scarcely  less  importunate  than  the  beggars,  and 
from  their  sales  the  government  derives  a  yearly  revenue 
that  rises  above  $800,000.  Here  is  another  legacy  from 
Spain  ;  and  as  the  tickets  are  sold  for  a  real,  it  is  made 
easy  for  the  tourist  to  temporarily  pocket  his  scruples 
and  invest.  The  resident  forcio-ners  seem  to  be  always 
buying  lottery-tickets,  but  not  one  of  them  has  told  of 
drawing  a  prize.  "When,  therefore,  a  late  arrival  came 
within  one  of  the  lucky  number  at  the  currcntlidrawing, 
and  had  sternly  refused  to  pay  out  one  real  for  the  prize 
that  lay  under  his  eyes — well,  he  piously  professed  to  es- 
teem himself  supremely  fortunate  in  having  so  narrowly 
escaped  the  clutches  of  the  devil ! 

IV. 

It  will  have  to  be  admitted,  men  and 
The  All-pervasivc      i      ,,  ..1.^1       i-      i-.         1  ^i 

Odors  bretlircn,  that  tlie  liveliest  and  most  des- 

potic impressions  produced  by  this  an- 
cient city  appeal  to  the  sense  of  smell.  The  odors  run 
from  colossal  sizes  of  stench  down  to  a  minute  but  per- 
sistent unpleasantness — for  the  supply  is  most  extensive, 
and  some  of  these  bad  smells  have  been  in  stock  for  five 
hundred  years.  This  is  a  demonstrable  fact.  The  attempt 
to  discharge  the  sewage  of  the  city  into  the  lake  that  lies 
nearly  on  a  level  with  the  streets  is  a  failure,  and  nothing 
like  a  thorough  flushing  of  the  sewers  has  taken  place  for 
hundreds  of  years.  Thus  the  filth  of  centuries  has  ac- 
cumulated under  these  pavements,  and  the  evil  spirits  cm- 


* 


98  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

bodied  in  it  make  their  escape  Avben  tliey  can,  a  few  at  a 
time  perhaps,  so  that  some  arc  always  abroad. 

The  people  who  walk  these  streets  owe  their  lives  to  the 
lofty  location  of  the  city.  They  have  abundantly  invited 
annihilation,  but  the  upper  classes  appear  to  be  as  long 
lived  here  as  in  any  well-drained  city.  The  heavy  weekly 
death-roll  strikes  the  peons,  who  must  most  closely  asso- 
ciate with  the  dank,  stinking  earth  of  the  old  portion  of 
this  city.  The  newer  parts  of  the  town  are  pleasant  and 
apparently  healthful. 

The  personality  of  these  smells,  by  the  way,  is  most 
striking.  Each  street  and  corner  produces  its  own  odor,  so 
that  the  old  resident  ought  to  be  able  to  walk  blindfolded 
over  the  ancient  city,  and  know  always  just  where  he 
stands.  But,  like  many  equally  plausible  theories,  this  one 
fails  in  the  test.  Even  the  most  sensitive  New  EnHand 
noses  soon  lose  all  power  of  discrimination,  and,  indeed, 
come  to  be  rather  partial  to  an  antique  smell.  The  enjoy- 
ment is  acquired,  like  a  love  for  Limburger  cheese.  It  is 
a  fortunate  thing  that  curios  of  this  kind  are  not  trans- 
plantable, else  a  five  hundred-years-old  smell  would  accom- 
pany each  returning  pilgrim — if  he  escaped  the  chills  and 
fever,  for  when  that  strikes  one  it  acts  as  an  entire  antidote 
to  any  fondness  for  old  bric-a-brac  of  this  kind. 

V. 

After  the  morning  roll  and  cup  of  cof- 
Shoppers,  and  the     r  i      i        i  <•     .    i  . 

Army  and  Navy.    ^^° — people   breakfast  here  at  noon— it 

pays  one  to  loaf  about  the  Plaza  Mayor. 

The  tide  of  shoppers  is  now  at  the  full,  and  beautiful 

women  who  come  on  foot  and  in  elegant  carriafres  arc  as 

abundant  and  intent  on  each  passing  purcliase  as  if  this 

were  New  York. 


STREET  SCENES-  AND  SUGGESTIONS.  99 

Turning  to  the  plaza,  however,  the  scene  is  foreign.  The 
dusky  soldiers  quartered  over  in  the  government  palace 
are  out  on  parade,  and  there  are  novel  things  about  them. 
Some  days  tlicy  appear  in  uniforms  of  dark  blue,  and  on 
others  they  are  arrayed  in  white  apparel,  even  to  the  caps. 
The  soldiers  wear  the  leather  sandal  of  the  peasantry,  for 
here  the  climate  necessitates  no  protection  for  the  ankle  or 
instep,  and  this  offers  the  most  comfortable  and  convenient 
shoeing.  They  do  not  keep  step  in  marching,  and  present 
.1  most  disorderly  line  to  an  eye  trained  to  the  exact  move- 
ments of  armed  men.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  too,  that  the 
military  bands  do  not  stop  to  the  time  of  their  music — for 
no  better  musical  organizations  exist.  AVhen  they  pass, 
producing  magnificent  strains  of  melody,  one  is  curious  to 
know  how  they  succeed  in  keeping  out  of  step — but  they 
do  it,  every  time  ! 

Latterly  the  government  has  employed  the  army  some- 
what in  public  works,  and  these  men  of  war  carry  gunny- 
bags  of  dirt  as  naturally  as  any  peon.  While  the  army  as 
a  unit  is  a  mighty,  yes,  a  controlling,  factor  in  Mexican  af- 
fairs, as  an  individual  the  soldier  is  a  pretty  poor  stick. 
The  ranks  are  largely  recruited  from  the  criminals  of  the 
country,  and  prisoners  are  sentenced  to  the  army.  The  of- 
ficers are  good  men,  trained  in  the  national  military  school, 
and  the  soldiers  arc  never  stationed  long  in  one  place  lest 
they  form  local  alliances  and  foment  disturbances.  The 
wives  of  the  soldiers  go  with  them  about  the  country  as 
camp-followers,  but  are  obliged  to  live  outside  the  barracks. 

The  Mexican  army  is  said  to  number  about  50,000  men 
— this  must  be  a  large  estimate — and  in  addition  to  the 
national  forces  each  state  has  its  militia.  The  latter  more 
frequently  figure  in  the  local  disturbances,  that  cause  more 
excitement  as  a  rule  to  the  American  newspapers  than  to 


100 


MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 


the  people  of  this  city.  The  regular  cavalry  numbers  four- 
teen regiments,  who  muster  about  6000  soldierly  appear- 
ing men,  who  ride  like  centaurs. 

Attached  to  the  army  is  a  unique  body  of  men,  who 
have  been  called  the  finest  mounted  troop  in  the  world. 
They  are  the  Rurales,  mounted  patrols.  "  This  is  Mexico  !" 
exclaimed  the  people  on  September  16,  when  these  men 
swept  by  the  palace,  3000  strong,  the  most  attractive  feature 
of  the  grand  review.  Here  is  a  fascinating  relic  of  brigand- 
age— a  sort  of  dashing  display  that  calls  to  mind  the  Pirates 
of  Penzance ;  for  these  men  have  been  drawn  to  the  service 
of  law  and  order  much  as  frontier  communities  in  the 
United  States  used  to  make  an  efiicient  sheriS  out  of  a 
noted  desperado.  Energy  once  rcprehensibly  misdirected 
is  made  to  serve  the  public  good.  These  men  were,  many 
of  them,  once  highway  freebooters,  such  as  robbed  stages, 
until  the  proprietors  of  lines  were  frequently  compelled  to 
compromise  by  paying  heavy  toll.  They  made  travelling 
in  this  country  a  serious  peril.  General  Diaz  negotiated  a 
new  order  of  things  something  after  this  fashion  :  He  sent 
for  the  leaders,  inquired  how  much  brigandage  paid  on  the 
average,  and  then  asked  whether  they  would  not  prefer  to 
receive  that  sum  in  a  settled  income.  Diplomacy  won  the 
day.  The  interview  closed  with  an  offer  of  $40  a  month, 
the  men  to  find  horses  and  equipments,  and  thus  were  the 
terrors  of  the  country  organized  into  guards  to  protect  the 
rural  districts.  The  new  way  suits  them  and  gratifies  1,he 
public  even  more.  Now  for  the  picture.  Imagine  stalwart 
men,  whose  horsemanship  is  perfect,  clad  in  leather  suits 
profusely  ornamented  with  silver,  wearing  gi'ay  sombreros; 
their  saddles  the  most  expensive  and  ornate;  the  horses  of 
each  band  of  a  color,  and  matched  to  perfection  ;  over  each 
horseman's  back  a  carbine,  and  bound  on  the  saddle  behind 


J^^"  %  fy. 


MEXICAN    KOLDIEH   ON    GUARD. 


STREET  SCENES  AND  SUGGESTIONS.  103 

him  a  gay  scrape — the  animals  in  perfect  line  as  they  gal- 
lop by ;  now  black  chargers,  then  chestnut,  and  next  pie- 
bald— and  even  horses  clothed  in  leather,  as  were  the  steeds 
of  the  ancient  knights  of  Spain.  This,  indeed,  is  a  mar- 
vellously characteristic  thing — "  this  is  Mexico  !" 

The  naval  force  consists  of  fourteen  gunboats,  and  while 
we  of  the  interior  see  little  of  the  navy,  that  chief-engineer 
coming  down  the  street — a  Yankee  who  held  a  government 
clerkship  when  Andrew  Johnson  was  in  the  Wliite  House 
— seems  to  justify  this  mention,  lie  is  up  from  Vera  Cruz 
on  leave,  and  will  never  leave  this  hot  country  to  live  again 

in  the  United  States. 

VI. 

The  Indian  dialect  is  frequently  heard 

Telegraph  Telephone,  .      ^  ^^^^     j  ^^,j  ,^^    -^ 

and  Electric  Light.  '  i 

always  seem  busy  about  something. 
They  are  trained  porters,  wonted  to  carrying  heavy  burdens, 
and  are  as  patient  as  the  universal  donkey,  but  far  more 
lively  and  intelligent.  They  pour  into  the  city  from  all 
the  region  about  with  fruits  or  chickens,  sometimes  coming 
from  one  hundred  miles  away  to  find  a  market  for  their 
petty  wares.  Very  often  they  take  up  a  dog-trot,  of  which 
they  never  seem  to  tire,  which  enables  them  to  cover  long 
distances  with  surprising  rapidity. 

The  wires  that  you  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  forcing 
under  ground  are  stretched  above  this  ancient  square.  The 
telegraph  is  in  extensive  use,  including  the  government 
lines,  those  owned  by  the  states  of  Zacatecas,  Morelos,  Hi- 
dalgo, and  Michoacan,  private  lines  in  the  states  of  Jalisco 
and  Vera  Cruz,  and  four  railroad  lines — the  Central,  Na- 
tional, Mexican,  and  Morelos.  The  electric  light,  too,  sets 
up  its  feeble  nightly  substitute  for  the  glory  of  the  days. 

What  "Hello,  Central!"  may  be  in  Spanish,  I  do  not 
4* 


104  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

know,  but  its  equivaleut  is  heard  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 
The  Mexican  Telephone  Company  is  under  the  management 
of  M.  L.  Guiraud,  a  native  of  New  Orleans  and  a  very  push- 
ing business  man.  Several  of  the  small  telephone  companies 
have  been  put  under  his  charge  with  improved  results. 
The  government  makes  extensive  use  of  the  telephone,  and 
it  is  quite  generally  patronized,  not  only  at  the  capital  but 
in  the  chief  towns  of  the  interior.  On  this  table-land  the 
telephone  works  with  remarkable  clearness,  and  is  easily 
available  for  long-distance  talking.  The  capital  invested 
in  the  telephone  is  United  States  money,  and  there  seems 
to  be  a  fair  prospect  that  the  investors  will  eventually  get 
some  dividends.  At  present  it  is  evidence  of  the  world- 
wide over-expansion  of  such  business  ventures. 


CII AFTER  YIII. 

A    WELL-ORDERED    CAPITAL. 
I. 

Vital  as  are  the  deficiencies  in  real  re- 
iiow  the  Pulque  Shops      i^iican  government,  and  unpro^ressive 

are  Regulated.         i  °  '  in 

as  the  business  methods  employed  appear 
to  American  eyes,  there  arc  things  to  be  learned  in  Mexico. 
This  capital  city  is  governed  sternly,  with  more  than  a  hint 
of  despotic  methods,  but  the  result  as  a  whole  is  good  or- 
der, and  there  are  points  of  efficiency  that  cities  in  the 
United  States  might  profit  by.  Take  the  liquor  question, 
of  which  the  cities  of  the  United  States  know  something. 

All  over  the  city  of  Mexico,  flaming  out  more  gaudily 
than  a  tea  store  in  your  cities,  and  also  far  more  artistically 
decorated,  are  the  pulque  (poolka)  shops.  Therein  the  na- 
tional tipple  is  dispensed  in  a  never-ending  stream,  save 
that  each  night  at  six  o'clock  the  flow  is  temporarily 
checked.  No  more  pulque  can  be  sold  until  the  next 
momin"'.  The  law  is  as  inexorable  as  were  the  enactments 
of  the  Medcs  and  Persians,  and  none  appear  to  be  so  bold 
as  to  evade  it. 

"  The  prevalent  vices  of  Mexico  " — says  David  II.  Stro- 
thcr,  late  consul-general,  and  Porte  Crayon  of  long  ago — 
"  are  gambling,  drunkenness,  and  fighting,  the  Indian  pop- 
ulation being  especially  hasty  with  their  knives."  That 
last  specification  is  graphically  put,  and  the  whole  indict- 
ment establishes  one  great  fact.     These  people  are  true 


106  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

Southrons — mercurial,  musical,  liglit-bearted,  impulsive, 
and  about  as  ready  with  the  blade  as  are  Italians  or  Span- 
iards of  the  same  order  of  life.  Give  them  pulque  at  night, 
as  you  feed  liquor  to  the  heterogeneous  Old  World  peo- 
ples who  make  up  so  considerable  a  share  in  the  population 
of  your  great  cities,  and  these  streets  would  be  turbulent 
and  to  a  large  degree  unsafe  loitering-places  for  honest 
men.  The  government  says  no,  and  there  are  not  two 
sides  to  its  dictum.  Hence  the  streets  are  quiet  and  un- 
disturbed to  a  remarkable  degree,  so  that  the  tourist  may 
wander  about  at  will  with  none  to  molest  of  make  him 
afraid. 

Thus  much  for  the  Aztecs,  or  Indians.  The  upper 
classes  are  under  a  different  regime,  and  gilded  barrooms 
and  restaurants  do  an  unchecked  evening  business ;  but 
w-ant  of  money  serves  as  an  iron  hand  to  debar  the  en- 
trance of  the  common  people  within  such  doors.  The 
other  class  do  not  abuse  their  privileges,  and  the  only  noisy 
intoxication  noted  was  traceable  to  some  Americans. 

This  gives  a  peg  on  which  to  hang  a  general  observation 
regarding  international  misconceptions.  The  Mexican  wlio 
strap's  up  into  the  mining  regions  of  the  United  States  and 
there  exhibits  some  of  the  worst  failings  of  the  lowest 
side  of  life  here  is  accepted  as  a  standard  by  which  cer- 
tain Americans  pass  a  superficial  estimate  on  this  people. 
It  is  also  true  that  coarse  adventurers  or  irresponsible 
bummers  among  the  some  four  hundred  Americans  who 
constitute  our  colony  here  offer  an  undesirable  style  of 
character  that  serves  to  misrepresent  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  refined  residents  of  Mexico.  Here,  as  in 
Europe,  our  swaggering,  assertive,  and  carelessly  discourte- 
ous element  insists  upon  occupying  a  front  seat  upon  many 
occasions. 


A   WELL-ORDERED   CAPITAL.  107 

II. 

„.     „^  .        The  Mexican   bad  liis  pulque  before 

The    Character    and  '       ' 

Maiiuracture  of  ihc   tlic    davs  of  tlic   MontoziHiKis,  and  no 

National  Beverage.     j^^^,.,j  f,.^,„^  ^^.^^-^^^^  jj.  j^,  absent  satisfies  Ills 

soul.  Tills  national  beverage  is  the  feiniented  juice  of 
the  mai^uey — known  to  American  liothouses  as  the  cen- 
tury-plant. Here  it  is  not  allowed  to  flower,  for  the 
natives  know  a  trick  worth  two  of  that.  They  extract 
the  heart  of  the  plant  at  flowering;  time — it  blooms  much 
more  frequently  here  than  under  your  skies — the  cavity 
fills  with  a  precious  sap,  and  this  last  is  sucked  two  or 
three  times  a  day  into  the  body  of  a  long  gourd.  This  is 
emptied  into  a  pig-skin  and  the  juice  is  fermented.  The 
result  is  a  liquor  that  resembles  koumiss,  in  milky  appear- 
ance, contains  Neater,  gluten,  and  alcohol,  and  is  said  to 
taste  something  like  beer;  but  the  fermentation  in  fresh 
hides  imparts  such  a  putrid  odor  to  the  popular  liquid  that 
most  visitors  are  willing  to  accept  the  opinion  of  others  as 
to  its  qualities.  In  fact  it  does  not  do  to  ponder  just 
about  dinner-time  over  the  statement  that  250,000  pints 
of  this  highly-scented  stuflE  are  daily  consumed  in  this  city. 
Colonel  Sellers  calculated  that  the  inhabitants  of  Asia 
were  bound  to  buy  his  eye-water,  but  it  is  certain  that 
Mexicans  are  always  going  to  want  pulque,  and  one  is  not 
surprised  to  discover  clever  Yankees  busily  figuring  on 
this  fact.  A  single  plant  is  said  to  produce  about  125 
quarts  of  juice,  after  which  it  dies;  but  the  old  roots  send 
Dut  new  shoots,  and  the  plants  alternate  in  their  yield. 
The  maguey  is  hardy,  and  requires  little  cultivation,  while 
some  grounds  devoted  to  it  arc  said  to  produce  a  revenue 
of  $10,000  a  year.  Of  all  this  one  cannot  speak  very  in- 
tclligcntlv,   but  R.  M.   Pulsifi-r,  of  the  Boston  JhraUl,  is 


108  •  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

president  of  a  company  that  is  to  test  the  profitableness  of 
pulque-making. 

In  the  district  of  Tequila  this  plant  has  special  virtues, 
and  is  more  satisfactorily  employed  in  the  production  of 
the  agreeable  liquor  bearing  the  name  of  that  region. 
Tequila  is  colorless,  and  has  the  strength  and  flavor  of 
Scotch  whiskey,  being  made  after  a  recipe  which  was  used 
before  Cortez  saw  Mexico.  Mescal  is  a  liquor  obtained 
from  the  fleshy  and  whiter  part  of  the  leaves  of  the  maguey- 
plant,  and  resembles  Holland  gin.  The  medicinal  proper- 
ties claimed  for  pulque  are  a  good  deal  like  those  attached 
to  koumiss,  it  being  a  great  promoter  of  digestion  and 
sleep,  and  of  avail  in  nervous  diseases.  Its  intoxicating 
properties,  when  freely  indulged  in,  are  of  an  ugly  char- 
acter, resembling  perhaps  a  rural,  hard-cider  drunk. 

The  sugar-growing  states  produce  large  quantities  of 
aguardiente,  an  excellent  brandy  that  is  distilled  from  cane 
juice,  the  total  annual  product  being  valued  at  over 
$2,000,000.  "Where  the  American  would  gulp  down  whis- 
key the  Mexican  gentleman  will  call  for  brandy.  The 
wine  consumed  in  Mexico — and  it  is  as  universal  in  res- 
taurants and  hotels  as  if  this  were  a  Continental  country — 
is  chiefly  imported  from  France  or  Spain  ;  but  much  of 
this  soil  is  admirably  adapted  to  grape  culture,  and  some 
good  native  wines  are  shown.  A  very  good  article  of  beer 
is  made  at  Toluca,  but  St.  Louis  lager,  at  fifty  cents  a  bot- 
tle, is  much  used. 

III. 

From  the  discussion  of  liquor  to  an 

Public  Order  aud  Law-  •    ,  -i.!      i.i  r       •  i.    • 

vers  acquamtance   with   the  police  is  not  in 

this   case  a  strained   transition.     "  The 

force"  appears  to  be  an  excellent  one,  and  it  is  clothed 

with  arbitrary  and  apparently  semi-judicial  powers.     *'  Se- 


A   WELL-ORDERED   CAPITAL.  109 

renos,"  the  officers  are  called,  in  lieu  of  our  English  appel- 
lation of  "  cops,"  "  bohbics,"  or  "  peelers  " — for  a  nickname 
the  guardians  of  the  public  peace  always  will  bear.  These 
men  are  well  drilled  and  affable,  but  firm — very.  They 
are  stationed  in  the  centre  of  the  roadway,  and  wear  effi- 
cient-looking revolvers  in  plain  sight.  If  a  domestic  disa- 
greement occurs  the  policeman  is  ever  ready  to  step  in  and 
settle  it,  and  his  verdict  is  accepted  with  unquestioning 
docility,  lie  imparts  information  courteously,  but  if  a 
malefactor  seeks  to  escape  him  or  disobeys  a  call  to  lialt, 
the  sereno  shoots  with  marked  ability.  Such  readiness 
loads  the  peons  to  respect  and  admire  him.  The  police- 
man is  furnished  with  a  lantern  at  night,  which  he  places 
exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  street,  and  the  hackmen  are 
particular  not  to  disturb  it.  To  assure  his  activity  and 
vigilance,  he  is  made  to  blow  a  whistle  at  allotted  periods 
during  the  night  hours.  The  streets  are  illuminated  with' 
gas  or  the  electric  light,  but  the  lantern  is  often  useful  in 
penetrating  dark  corners  or  houses. 

It  is  said,  by  the  way,  that  the  lower  courts  of  this  city 
sustain  an  excellent  reputation  for  dealing  out  even-handed 
justice,  rich  and  poor  faring  alike  at  their  hands.  Police- 
court  lawyers  must  be  as  abundant  as  in  some  Northern 
cities,  for  the  chief  ambition  of  the  young  Mexican  seems 
to  be  to  don  a  long  coat  and  be  a  lawyer — a  condition  of 
things  which  does  not  conduce  to  prosperous  and  useful 
citizenship,  and  is  much  deprecated  by  the  newspapers. 

IV. 

While  American  life-insurance  compa- 

A  Qnaiut  Fire  Depart-      •  i    •  ii    •    •        i       •  •      xi  • 

..,„  t  nies  are  domfj  a  thrivmc:  business  m  this 

city,  there  is  no  opening  for  fire  insur- 
ance.    The  capital  is  virtually  fire-proof,  the  liouscs  being 


110  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

constructed  of  stone,  sun-dried  brick,  tiles,  or  other  non- 
combustible  materials.  The  stairways  are  stone,  and  the 
roofs  and  floors  of  brick  or  cement.  But  even  wliere  no 
fire  is  used  for  heating,  curtains  sometimes  catch  the  flames 
from  gas  or  lamp,  or  the  goods  in  a  store  or  warehouse  are 
imperilled.  On  emergencies  like  these  an  antiquated  fire 
department  materializes.  Its  "  machines"  would  make  the 
cliief  engineer  of  an  American  fire  department  hold  his 
sides  for  a  week.  The  antique  and  petite  fire-engine  was 
made  in  Brussels  some  forty  years  or  so  ago,  but  it  shines 
like  a  New  England  andiron,  and  is  the  idol  of  the  firemen. 
A  grave  compliment  to  its  grandeur,  tendered  to  the  men 
grouped  around  it,  won  the  hearts  of  the  brown-faced  fire- 
laddies,  and  they  simultaneously  poured  out  the  gracious 
acknowledgment:  "A  thousand  thanks!"  Other  para- 
phernalia of  the  department,  which  was  of  an  equally  prim- 
itive character,  bore  the  mark  of  a  London  maker.  It  may 
be  added  that  men  grow  old  and  die  without  seeing  this 
department  in  action. 


The  Paradise  where  ^  Compensation  of  life  in  this  city  may 
Hackmen  are  Reg-  be  found  in  its  admirable  cab  system. 
^  '^^^'''  There  is  one  place  on  this  continent  where 

the  hackman  is  ruled  with  a  strong  hand,  and  perhaps  a 
semi-despotic  government  was  necessary  to  achieve  his  over- 
throw. The  same  class  lines  that  arc  recognized  in  the 
railroad  and  horse-cars  appear  in  the  hack  system.  Coaches 
bearing  a  blue  fiag  are  of  the  first  class,  and  cost  $1  an 
hour  on  week  days ;  a  red  flag  marks  the  second  class, 
price  V5  cents  an  hour ;  while  the  third-class  carriages  dis- 
play a  white  flag,  and  the  drivers  are  entitled  to  50  cents 
an  hour,  and  on  feast  days  these  rates  are  doubled.     The 


A   WELL-ORDERED   CAriTAL.  m 

above  prices  per  hour  buy  the  coach,  and  yon  may  fill  it 
with  four  people  if  so  disposed.  AVIicn  yon  liirc  a  first- 
class  coach  you  get  one,  for  as  the  vehicles  lose  their  gloss 
they  are  degraded  to  the  class  below,  and  after  more  wear 
thoy  sink  to  the  white  flag ;  bat  the  fifty -cent  class  con- 
tains coaches  that  would  command  full  price  in  New  York 
City,  and  it  is  easy  to  economize  in  carriage-hire  without 
loss  of  comfort.  The  tariff  rates  arc  conspicuously  posted 
in  each  carriage,  and  the  drivers  are  numbered. 

The  sharp  oversight  that  is  exercised  over  these  fellows 
was  illustrated  in  an  object  lesson  given  by  an  American 
resident.  The  cabby  who  drove  us  to  the  Hotel  San  Carlos 
was  not  unlike  his  kind  the  world  over,  and  insisted  upon 
receiving  an  overcharge,  lie  had  counted  too  confidently 
on  the  careless  acquiescence  that  distinguishes  American 
tourists,  for  a  visit  to  the  administration  in  the  municipal 
palace,  the  supreme  governor  of  hacks,  brought  swift  re- 
dress. Our  friend  told  his  story,  gave  the  number  of  the 
carriage,  and  the  driver  was  speedily  summoned  and  made 
to  disfjorjjc  the  amount  taken  above  his  Iciral  fee.  lie  also 
received  a  vigorous  reprimand,  and  doubtless  rejoiced  in 
not  being  deposed  from  his  seat,  which  is  the  extreme  pen- 
alty, not  infrequently  applied.  At  least  one  such  case  oc- 
curred during  our  call  on  the  courteous  king  of  cabs.  One 
little  internal  convenience  of  these  carriages  is  worth  not- 
ing. Passengers  are  saved  the  unpleasant  necessity  of 
bawling  at  their  driver  by  the  presence  of  a  cord  which  is 
attaclicd  to  his  arm  ;  a  pull  on  this  brings  the  conveyance 
to  a  halt,  and  enables  those  inside  to  make  their  wishes 
understood. 


112  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

VL 

AHorse  Railroad  that  ^he  horsc-car  system  offers  even  more 
Carries  Freight  and  novel  and  suggestive  features.  The  ra- 
Fuuerals.  pidity    of    progress    required    from    the 

mules  over  these  flat  streets  is  something  phenomenal,  and 
the  frequent  contests  of  speed  in  which  the  drivers  delight 
to  indulge  adds  a  fillip  to  many  a  ride.  They  are  required 
to  blow  a  horn  at  the  street  crossings,  and  all  day  long  the 
air  is  filled  with  not  unmusical  tootings.  Cars  of  the  first 
and  second  classes  (yellow  and  green)  leave  the  central 
square  of  the  city  every  ten,  fifteen,  thirty,  and  sixty  minutes 
for  all  parts  of  the  city  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles.  Within 
the  city  limits  the  fare  is  a  medio,  or  65  cents,  equal  to  five 
cents  of  American  money. 

Smoking  is  universal  in  the  street-cars  as  in  railroad 
coaches,  but  the  tobacco  is  good,  and  as  the  car-windows 
are  always  open  the  women  are  not  incommoded.  Uni- 
versal deference  is  paid  to  women,  and  the  Mexican  gen- 
tleman would  be  shocked  at  the  boorishness  shown  in  a 
New  York  horse-car. 

The  scope  of  these  tramways,  as  they  are  called,  is  en- 
larged by  the  addition  of  freight  cars,  and  goods  of  all 
sorts  are  hauled  in  every  direction  without  visibly  impair- 
ing the  passenger  service.  The  city  is  netted  with  nearly 
a  hundred  miles  of  tracks  whicli  are  all  under  one  manaae- 
ment.  A  liouscholder  who  contemplates  moving  engages 
a  freight  car  for  the  conveyance  of  his  goods  and  chattels. 
This  convenient  trucking  system  could  not  be  transplanted 
among  the  hills  of  an  Eastern  city,  but  the  Mexican  idea 
may  not  be  without  its  value  to  some  communities  on  the 
prairies. 

The  men  who  laid  out  this  horse-railroad  system  could 


A  WELL-ORDERED  CAPITAL.  113 

give  the  slirewdcst  Yankee  points.  They  bongLt  up  the 
hearses  of  the  city,  built  funeral-cars,  and  proposed  to 
transport  funerals  with  neatness  and  despatch.  This  they 
now  do.  The  funeral-cars  are  draped  in  black  for  adults 
and  white  for  children,  the  coffin  being  exposed  under  a 
canopy.  The  mourners  occupy  a  special  car  following  the 
body,  and  the  impression  produced  by  such  corteges  is  a 
very  peculiar  one. 

Yir. 

The  postmaster  of  the  city  is  a  wide- 
e  08  -0  cc.  j^^yj^j.g  official,  who  has  visited  the  United 
States  to  study  our  system.  Ilis  office  is  now  equipped  with 
Yale  locks  and  boxes,  and  the  service  is  admirable.  The 
letter  postage  is  ten  cents,  and  business  men  on  the  line  of 
the  Mexican  Central  road  are  said  to  send  their  correspon- 
dence across  the  border  to  the  Texas  side  for  mailing, 
whence  letters  come  for  five  cents.  Lists  of  the  letters 
received  are  posted  by  bulletins  in  all  the  post-offices,  so 
that  the  traveller  can  look  out  for  his  own  mail,  and  a  daily 
paper  devoted  to  postal  matters  publishes  a  list  of  letters 
uncalled  for  or  misdirected. 

Mexico  is  ahead  of  us,  it  may  be  added,  in  having  adopt- 
ed the  metric  system. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

JOURNALISM    AND    DIPLOMACY. 


There  is  no  "nigger  squat  on  the  safe- 
''Spap';™;:'^  ty-lve"  of  Mexican  journalism  (to  quote 
from  John  Hay's  dialect  versification  of 
an  episode  in  Mississippi  River  steamboating),  insuring  the 
highest  possible  amount  of  pressure  and  the  greatest  at- 
tainable speed — but  giving  the  public  the  fastest  service 
with  a  total  disregard  for  the  lives  of  those  concerned  in 
the  race.  No  one  here  sits  up  all  night  at  the  end  of  a 
telegraph-wire  to  catch  the  first  information  concerning  the 
death  of  a  national  hero,  the  downfall  of  a  ministry,  the 
outbreak  of  a  strike,  or  the  result  of  an  election  across  the 
sea.  The  late  news  and  the  timely  editorial  that  must  be 
born  in  the  small  hours  are  things  yet  afar  off.  The  night- 
mare of  a  "beat"  or  "scoop,"  that  rises  indistinct  yet 
most  disturbirig  out  of  the  scramble  of  a  day  never  in- 
trudes upon  the  untroubled  slumbers  of  the  local  news- 
paper man. 

He  rests  still  in  that  Slecj)y  Hollow  wherein  the  Ameri- 
can editors  were  pleased  to  imagine  that  they  toiled  before 
the  day  of  Bennett,  Raymond,  Greeley,  and  Weed.  It 
seems  like  going  back  over  forty  years  to  that  formative 
period  when  electricity  was  first  being  enlisted  in  news- 
gathering,  and  when  the  modern  newspaper  was  just  be- 
ginning to  organize  its  marvellous  forces.    The  newspapers 


JOURNALISM   AND    DirLOMACY.  115 

of  Mexico  yet  offer  a  calm  haven  for  the  essayist  and  tlic 
poet,  and  above  all  they  are  sought  by  the  inveterate  and 
unruffled  theorist.  Most  often  he  presides  over  their  gen- 
tle and  harmless  destinies,  issuing  his  dreams  and  his  radi- 
cal manifestoes  in  the  face  of  surrounding  turbulence  or 
revolution  with  a  placidity  of  purpose  that  a  general  might 
envy. 

The  contrast  of  all  this  to  the  remorseless  race  that  is 
now  going  on  in  the  United  States  is,  of  course,  the  great- 
est possible.  It  is  very  interesting  and  restful,  but  there  is 
nothing  inspiring  about  it.  "\Vc  shall  never  go  back  to 
anything  like  this,  and  already  the  modern  Minotaur  that 
we  call  enterprise  has  begun  to  exact  victims  from  Mexico. 
Several  of  the  dailies  in  this  city  arc  taking  half  a  column 
of  telegraph  each  day  by  way  of  the  Galveston  cable. 

II. 
The  morning  papers  arc  cried  on  the 
°^  Ti^  /i''^^  ""^^  streets  the  night  before  their  alleged  date 
of  publication,  for  they  generally  go  to 
press  at  5  p.m.     The  merciful  Mexican  editor  is  thus  mer- 
ciful to  himself,  and  no  one  blames  him  for  his  want  of 
self-sacrifice.    '"  Mailana"  (to-morrow)  is  a  word  in  universal 
use,  the  very  watchword  of  Mexico.     It  springs  to  the  lips 
of  the  people  in  every  business  transaction  as  a  sort  of  con- 
stitutional barrier  and  protest  against  rapid  methods  in  any 
direction.     The  Yankee  who  would  do  business  here  must 
not  only  tolerate  but  learn  to  echo  "  mafiana,"  and  he  must 
angle  to  make  to-morrow  to-day  with  the  inexhaustible  pa- 
tience that  distinguishes  the  successful  fisherman. 

The  Saturday-night  papers  are  sold  Sunday,  but  there 
are  none  ready  for  Monday  morning,  excepting  a  special 
Monday  weekly  that  has  been    planned  to  fill  this  gap. 


IIG  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

Here,  therefore,  is  a  place  where  no  Sunday  newspaper 
work  is  done,  but  those  who  deprecate  such  labor  will  not 
be  able  to  draw  any  moral  that  will  avail  them  in  criticis- 
ing the  newspapers  of  the  United  States. 

Newspapers  seem  to  flourish  in  a  phenomenal  way,  and 
the  number  is  so  great  that  one  fails  to  see  how  most 
of  them  live.  No  criterions  that  we  know  are  sufficient  to 
justify,  much  less  to  account  for,  this  mushroom  growth. 
Not  only  in  this  capital  city,  but  in  the  chief  towns  of  all 
the  states,  are  newspapers  that  possess  little  of  those  quali- 
ties that  command  success  with  you,  and  yet  they  live  and 
thrive,  and  are  boldly  critical  of  existing  things. 

III. 

The  Leading  Jonrnals,        ^hc   chief   daily   of   the   Capital    is  El 
their  Chaiacteristics  Monitor  HepubUcano,  a  Liberal  opposi- 
"  "^^'  tion  sheet,  having  a  circulation  of  3500 

copies.  It  is  owned  by  Garcia  Torres,  and  is  a  profitable 
establishment,  for  I  am  told  that  it  clears  an  annual  profit 
of  $40,000.  Printers  here,  by  the  wa}^  earn  $5  or  $6  a 
week.  The  editor-in-chief,  Senor  Chavarri,  has  just  served 
out  a  sentence  of  seven  months  in  Belem  penitentiar3^  The 
charge  against  him  was  of  inciting  sedition,  and  his  savage 
criticisms  were  of  such  a  character  that  I  doubt  whether 
they  would  have  been  tolerated  in  the  United  States. 

The  weakness  of  opposition  writing  here  lies  in  its  in- 
temperance, the  editors  dealiug  in  the  most  sweeping 
charges,  going  to  the  length  of  calling  for  actual  revolt, 
and  yet  seldom  presenting  definite  facts  upon  which  their 
denunciations  are  shown  to  rest.  With  an  excitable  people, 
who  are  without  any  sound  training  in  republicanism,  this 
sort  of  thing  could  easily  develop  into  an  actual  peril  to 
the  government.     There  are  enough  exhibitions  of  despot- 


JOURNALISM  AND  DirLOMACY.  117 

ism  in  Mexico,  in  all  conscience,  but  in  dealing  ■with  such 
a  representative  case  as  the  above  the  forms  of  law  are 
scrupulously  observed.  Quite  likely  the  government  is 
bound  to  win  in  a  suit  of  the  character  of  that  brought 
against  Sonor  Chavarri,  but  his  trial  was  most  ably  con- 
ducted for  the  defence.  He  was  fust  sentenced  by  a  lower 
court,  and  then  the  case  was  appealed  to  the  supreme  tri- 
bunal, when  the  verdict  was  reaffirmed.  The  best  legal 
talent  of  the  country  argued  the  editor's  case. 

El  Monitor  Itepuhlicano  has  a  brief  news  service  from 
El  Paso,  Texas.  Like  all  the  dailies  in  the  capital,  this 
paper  is  intensely  partisan  at  times.  It  has  always  been 
identified  with  the  Liberal  cause,  and  fought  for  existcBcc 
against  the  domination  of  the  priests. 

There  are  five  other  Liberal  dailies  in  this  city.  El 
Partldo  Liberal  is  the  organ  of  General  Porfirio  Diaz, 
the  president  of  the  republic.  El  Diario  Oficial  is  the 
organ  of  the  government,  and  there  are  probably  times 
when  its  editor  discovers  that  late  official  announce- 
ments occupy  columns  that  he  had  otherwise  provided 
for.  A  paper  of  growing  importance  is  I^  JVacional, 
whicli  opposes  the  government,  and  is  especially  devoted 
to  advocating  tariff  reform  and  to  discussing  questions 
concerning  fixation.  El  Sif/lo  Diez  y  Nueve  and  La 
Patria  are  other  Liberal  dailies.  El  Facto  Federal,  which 
was  the  mouthpiece  of  ex -President  Gonzalez,  has  just 
died. 

The  chief  daily  paper  of  the  Church  party  hEl  Tiempo, 
which  is  fiercely  Catholic,  and  is  edited  under  clerical  super- 
vision. It  circulates  2500  copies,  and  is  very  bitter  against 
Americans  and  the  railroad  system  which  they  have  intro- 
duced. La  Voz  de  Mexico  is  also  an  earnest  advocate  of 
Roman  Catholicism.     La  Voz  de  Esimfia  is  noticeable  be- 


118  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

cause  it  lias  supported  tlie  claims  of  Guatemala  against 
Mexico. 

The  penny  press  possesses  consiJerablo  foothold  here, 
the  chief  journal  of  that  sort  being  El  Monitor,  which  cir- 
culates among  the  common  people.  Tliere  has  been  in  ad- 
dition a  weekly  cheap  paper,  JEl  Valedor,  that  was  con- 
ducted by  an  educated  young  editor  who  wrote  in  the 
street  dialect  of  the  lower  classes.  It  seemed  like  a  prom- 
ising venture.  Such  an  enterprise  might  be  made  a  great 
power  for  good — or  for  harm.  The  men  who  argue  that 
projects  of  this  kind  must  be  both  cheap  and  nasty  will 
some  day  be  taught  that  there  is  a  better  way,  and  one 
quite  as  short,  to  pecuniary  success. 

A  novel  and  successful  daily  is  El  Foi-o,  which  circulates 
among  tbe  lawyers,  and  is  most  ably  managed.  The  fact 
that  this  city  swarms  with  members  of  the  bar  accounts  for 
its  special  success. 

There  is  one  American  daily  here,  the  Two  Republics, 
and  the  French  daily.  Trait  cV  Union,  is  said  to  be  very 
strongly  edited. 

IV. 

The  weekly  journals  probably  number 
The  Weekly  Press.      ,  .i  •  ,  j    ^i  i     i       -n 

above  thirty,  and  they  deal  with  every 

imaginable  interest,  from  bull-fighting  up  to  science.  It  is 
characteristic  of  the  slow  and  steady  Germans  that  they 
support  only  a  weekly  paper.  There  are  monthly  period- 
icals, reviews,  and  so  on,  which  help  to  illustrate  the  nation- 
j^l  disposition  to  theorize  over  everything.  If  one  were  to 
judge  alone  from  the  constitution  of  the  republic,  and  from 
the  essays  and  editorials  that  appear  in  the  press  of  Mexico, 
he  would  look  to  this  as  a  model  country. 

There  is  one  admirable  weekly  paper  here  in  which  out- 


JOURNALISM   AND   DIPLOMACY.  119 

sidcrs  have  a  particular  interest.  The  Mexican  Financier, 
printed  in  parallel  columns  of  Spanish  and  English,  is  a 
specimen  of  choice  American  journalism  planted  and  flour- 
ishing in  this  alien  soil.  It  is  controlled  by  the  three  men 
wlio  own  it — Simon  Levy,  the  founder,  who  spends  much 
of  his  time  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  paper  outside 
of  Mexico;  Charles  L.  Secger,  formerly  of  Springfield, 
Mass.,  publislier;  and  Fred.  11.  Guernsey,  lately  of  the  Bos- 
ton Herald,  editor.  The  social  and  business  standing  which 
these  young  men  have  achieved  shows  in  what  esteem  their 
work  is  held  by  the  best  people  of  Mexico.  Their  unsub- 
sidized  paper  is  indispensable  to  those  who  desire  to  keep 
posted  on  Mexican  matters,  from  the  fact  that  it  discusses 
current  affairs  with  intelligence  and  force  from  the  Mexican 
side.  Its  sources  of  information  are  the  best,  and  its  sym- 
pathetic consideration  for  the  best  interests  of  this  repub- 
lic docs  not  make  it  disloyal  to  the  most  progressive  pur- 
poses. 

Thus  the  Financier  has  lately  attacked  the  system  by 
which  the  large  land-owners  keep  their  peons  in  essential 
slavery.  The  laborer  who  gets  in  debt  to  his  master  must 
free  himself  from  this  pecuniary  obligation  before  going  to 
work  elsewhere.  This  gives  a  hard  master  a  grip  of  iron 
on  the  improvident  peon.  Unless  the  servant  is  able  to 
persuade  some  other  employer  to  buy  him  off,  a  condition 
of  slavery  really  exists.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that 
this  question  was  promptly  taken  up  by  the  local  papers  of 
various  states,  and  the  subject  is  being  thoroughly  agitated. 
In  ways  like  this  the  Financier  is  doing  wholesome  pioneer 
work,  without  going  into  politics.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  the  administration  cares  more  for  what  this  inde- 
pendent and  responsible  journal — which  is  read  in  all  parts 
of  the  United  Slates,  in  J'aris,  London,  and  Berlin — may 


120  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

say  of  its  acts  and  policy  than  for  many  comments  in  the 

purely  local  newspapers.     The  Financier  has  made  a  field 

for  itself. 

V. 

One  is  impressed  anew  here  with  the 
V.,lne  of  a  Trained   ^^^^  ^^^^^  ^j^^   -jj^^j^g^   g^^^^^  j  ^^^j^j^^j 

Diplomatic  Service.  _  ° 

the   older  nations   of   the  world    in   the 

efficiency  of  her  diplomatic  service.  The  work  of  building 
up  a  non-partisan  civil  service  must  be  made  to  include  the 
establishment  of  a  permanent  foreign  service,  with  pro- 
motion for  merit  and  a  stable  tenure.  Diplomacy  will 
have  to  be  recognized  as  a  profession,  the  mastery  of 
which  everywhere  depends  on  long  training,  in  which  lin- 
guistic acquirement  is  one  of  the  prime  requisites. 

There  have  been  three  American  ministers  since  the  Cleve- 
land administration  came  in.  Judge  Morgan  was  succeeded 
by  General  Jackson,  and  he  in  turn  by  Judge  Manning,  an 
able  lawyer  of  commanding  presence.  lie  has  made  a  favor- 
able impression,  and  Americans  located  in  the  Mexican  cap- 
ital say  he  may  be  depended  on  to  take  a  firm  stand  when 
such  an  attitude  is  called  for,  while  his  long  experience  on 
the  bench  has  given  him  sufficient  discrimination  to  know 
just  when  his  interference  is  justified.  But  we  must  always 
be  at  some  disadvantage  when  our  minister  is  pitted  against 
a  professional  diplomat  like  the  new  British  consul,  Lionel 
Garden,  long  located  here  as  special  agent  of  his  government. 
We  shall  some  day  recognize  that  a  healthy  foreign  trade 
must  be  largely  dependent  upon  alert,  expert,  and  thorough 
diplomatic  pushing. 

The  departure  of  Minister  Morgan  was  accompanied  by 
the  removal  of  Consul-General  Strother,  whose  six  years  of 
service  had  made  him  a  most  useful  representative  of  the 
United  States.     Colonel  More  of  Missouri  is  the  latest 


JOURXALISM    AND   DIPLOMACY.  121 

consul-general.  The  new  secretary  of  legation  is  Thomas 
B.  Conncry,  formerly  of  the  Ncio  Vork  Herald,  aiul  an 
agreeable,  wcU-ediieatcd  gentleman  who  cannot  fail  to  till 
his  position  very  acceptably.  The  legation  has  recently 
been  moved  to  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  in  one  of  the 
finest  old  houses  to  be  found  anywhere,  surrt)Uiided  by  a 
tropical  garden  of  great  beauty. 

It  may  be  said  that  Mr.  Bayard's  sharp  work  in  sending 
the  United  States  marines  down  South  has  given  him  a 
reputation  in  Mexico,  and  his  prompt  attention  to  all  sug- 
gestions that  the  rights  of  American  citizens  are  being  in- 
terfered with  anywhere  on  this  continent  is  looked  on  with 
something  like  apprehension.  The  South  American  repre- 
sentatives at  the  Mexican  capital  agree  that  the  new  ad- 
ministration is  regarded  as  a  strong  one  all  over  the  south- 
cm  portion  of  the  American  continent,  and  it  will  pay  the 
secretary  to  look  well  after  our  diplomatic  agents. 

Good  ministers  and  consuls  command  respect  for  our 
government,  and  bad  ones  bring  gross  discredit  on  the 
United  States.  Some  shameful  past  examples  in  South 
America  are  quoted  everywhere.  "  As  drunk  as  the  Amer- 
ican minister"  was  once  a  common  comparison  in  one  of 
the  republics.  The  policy  of  filling  our  consular  service 
with  worn-out  political  hacks,  and  making  party  service  the 
sole  ground  for  diplomatic  appointment,  should  come  to  an 
end.  Just  how  much  the  United  States  suffers  from  the 
lack  of  a  permanent  diplomatic  corps  only  residents  out 
of  the  country  can  fully  ap[)rcciatc. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A    BULL-FIGHT    AT    TOLUCA. 


Among  other  European   resemblances 

tincntal  Sunday,  and  the  Sunday  of  Mex- 
ico shares  with  tliat  of  Spain  the  sharae  of  perpetuating^ 
the  bull-fight.  The  national  government  frowns  upon  this 
brutal  relic  of  the  Moors,  and  no  bull-fighting  exhibitions 
are  permitted  within  the  federal  district ;  but  the  custom 
hangs  upon  the  outskirts  of  the  forbidden  ground,  and  it 
thrives  in  all  the  states. 

Truly  the  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them,  and  it  was 
easy  to  graft  this  Spanish  usage  so  that  it  flourishes  here 
as  tenaciously  as  though  native  to  the  soil.  The  Toltecs 
offered  flowers  and  fruits  and  ripe  grain  to  propitiate  their 
gods;  that  worship  was  succeeded  by  the  stern  and  cruel 
forms  of  the  Aztecs,  whose  sacrificial  stones  were  ever  wet 
with  human  blood  before  hideous  graven  images ;  and  then 
came  the  adroit  diplomacies  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
and  on  the  pagan  feast  days  she  supplanted  forms  that 
long  had  flourished  with  her  own  ceremonials  and  observ- 
ances. It  was  a  kindly  exchange,  enforced  to  be  sure  witli 
an  iron  hand  ;  but  done  with  the  tact  that  conducted 
proselyting  as  a  perfected  art.  As  bull-fighting  in  the  Old 
World  was  an  advance  on,  and  compromise  with,  gladiatorial 
contests,  so  in  Mexico  it  fed  an  appetite  for  blood  that  had 


A  BULLFIGHT   AT   TOLUCA.  123 

been  awakened  by  the  incredible  atrocities  committed  by 
tbc  priests  of  Iluitzilopocbtli. 

As  an  bistorical  link  the  bull-fiL,'Iit  lias  its  high  interest, 
but  as  an  exhibition  seen  in  the  refined  light  of  a  Christian 
age  it  is  more  than  time  that  it  became  a  memory  and  a 
tradition  in  North  America.  The  faithful  reporter,  com- 
missioned to  sec  and  exhibit  the  country  as  it  is,  must  do 
his  duty  ;  but  the  average  visitor,  particularly  lie  of  Puri- 
tan antecedents,  will  be  in  straits  of  perplexity  over  this 
matter. 

At  this  point  the  power  of  personal  example  usually  ap- 
pears to  'win  the  day,  clothed  in  the  famous  coat  that  par- 
tially wraps  about  the  historic  figure  of  Uncle  Hannibal 
Hamlin  of  Maine.  The  venerable  cx-vicc-president,  when 
adorning  the  court  of  Spain  as  minister  of  the  United 
States,  is  reported  to  have  witnessed  a  bull-fight,  and  also 
to  have  been  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Hamlin.  If  a  sojourner 
from  that  city  in  Maine  where  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pond  for  a  long 
lifetime  was  the  Hercules  of  an  antique  theology  could 
see  this  thing — the  steps  of  the  sophistic  reasoning  will  be 
clear  to  every  mind — why  may  not  the  debating  tourist 
go  ?  And  so  it  comes  about  that  many  a  man  follows  the 
old  claw-hammer,  and  his  wife  is  shielded  by  the  skirts  of 
the  wife  of  an  Arncrican  minister  and  patriot,  as  both  put 
an  end  to  cogitation  by  appearing  in  the  I'laza  de  Toros. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  argument  that  thus 
triumphs,  one  visit  doubtless  suffices  for  the  average  man, 
and  is  more  than  enough  for  the  ordinary  woman. 

II. 

Scenery  along  the  Imagine  a  morning  such  as  lieralds  one 
l,iiicorthcNaiion.il  of  tliosc  mis{)laccd  June  days  that  occa- 
Kailroad.  siotially  stray   into  September  in   Massa- 


124  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

chusetts — cloudless  and  balmy,  full  of  the  mellow  sunlight, 
musical  with  the  melody  of  birds,  and  fragrant  with  the 
rich  odors  of  tropical  vegetation — that  is  outside  of  the 
malodorous  old  city  limits. 

The  capital  is  early  astir  with  women  who  are  attired 
for  church,  and  men  who  generally  are  not  on  piety  bent. 
Perhaps  a  hundred  Roman  Catholic  churches  arc  open  to 
worshippers,  chief  of  them  all  the  noble  cathedral,  and  the 
edifices  devoted  to  Protestant  uses  are  by  no  means  neg- 
lected. The  shops  and  stores  are  all  open  until  noon,  and 
business  is  brisk  on  this  day  when  customers  are  at  leisure. 

It  takes  no  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  population  to 
discover  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  festively  ar- 
rayed throng  are  hurrying  towards  the  railroads  that  run 
to  cities  where  the  bull-ring  will  be  opened  in  the  after- 
noon. The  Mexican  National  Railway,  one  of  the  Amer- 
ican lines,  has  been  heralding  for  a  week,  on  gay  posters, 
the  way  to  Toluca,  a  place  of  about  12,000  inhabitants, 
the  capital  of  the  state  of  Mexico,  and  some  three  hours 
and  a  half,  and  forty-five  miles,  from  the  city  of  Mexico. 

The  ride  thither  encompasses  scenery  of  great  variety, 
the  region  being  rugged  to  a  degree  that  makes  railroading 
a  notable  achievement,  even  for  this  narrow-gauge  track. 
Great  mountains  are  encircled  and  crossed  in  a  way  to  open 
vast  stretches  of  valley  views  that  reveal  the  agricultural 
richness  of  the  intervals.  Land  not  adapted  to  other  pur- 
poses is  utilized  to  grow  extensive  patches  of  the  maguey- 
plant,  from  which  the  most  desirable  of  the  national  bever- 
ages is  extracted.  At  Rio  Hondo  the  elevation  is  7550  feet, 
and  we  are  about  200  feet  above  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  then 
the  track  enters  the  foothills  of  the  mountain  ridge  that 
forms  the  western  boundary  of  the  valley  of  Mexico  ;  some 
notable  rock-cuts  and  difficult  bridging  are  passed ;  then  a 


A  BULLFIGHT   AT  TOLUCA.  125 

most  attractive,  sunlit  valley  opens,  rich  in  cincolatcs  or 
cribs  of  golden  corn  ;  next  a  considerable  tunnel  and  more 
abrupt  climbinjj  brings,  through  an  opening  in  the  hills,  a 
view  of  the  lordly  city  of  Mexico  and  the  mountains  be- 
yond, such  as  could  only  come  under  a  Southern  sky  and 
sun.  The  lakes  shine  as  mirrors  without  a  flaw.  Stunted 
pines  and  spruces  struggle  along  the  ascending  track  as  re- 
minders of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region,  until  the  train  halts 
at  Cima.  This  is  the  summit  or  divide,  9974  feet  above 
tide-water,  the  highest  point  of  the  National  road,  and  the 
loftiest  station  in  the  country. 

Thence  we  descend,  and  ere  long  the  extinct  volcano  of 
Nevado  de  Toluca  looms  up  twenty  miles  away.  This 
most  eloquent  preacher  appeals  to  tlic  depths  of  human 
nature  from  his  exalted  pulpit  and  altar  in  the  region  of 
eternal  snow,  15,156  feet  above  us.  The  distinctive  feat- 
ures of  Mexican  life  arc  all  to  be  seen  during  the  remainder 
of  the  journey  to  Toluca,  but  they  must  go  unrecorded. 
The  mountain  overawes  petty  incident  with  easy  majesty, 
and  takes  a  supreme  hold  on  the  attention.  And  this  is  a 
morning  sermon  that  cannot  be  reported. 

Tliis  National  line — the  one  road  in  Mexio  that  does 
not  grant  free  passes — appears  to  be  admirably  managed. 
Its  hands  arc  all  Americans,  Western  and  Southern  boys, 
kindly  and  inost  competent  employees.  They  take  a  lively 
interest  in  tourists  from  the  United  States,  love  to  gossip 
an<l  hear  about  things  at  the  North ;  but  to  a  man  they 
profess  loyal  attachment  to  the  National  road  and  to  Mex- 
ico. We  arc  advised  that  a  certain  restaurant  near  the 
depot  sets  a  famous  turkey  dinner,  in  which  American 
dishes  are  reinforced  by  the  choicest  Mexican  delicacies, 
ami  the  grateful  reality  falls  nothing  short  of  the  adver- 
tisement. 


126  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 


III. 


Our  duty  to  the  carnal  man  being  tlms 
A  state  Capital  and  ^^.^jj  ^]jsci5aj.2,cj  ^g  ^r^]^Q  ^  decorous  entry 

the  Volcauo.  .  .    . 

into  the  well-built  and  thriving  town  of 

Toluca,  whose  hot  and  dusty  main  street  stretches  away 
to  end  in  the  picturesque  and  shaded  plaza  or  public  square. 
One  is  pleasantly  impressed  by  the  fact  tliat  the  place  is 
clean  and  well  drained.  It  boasts  an  inartistic  but  preten- 
tious statue  to  the  patriot  Hidalgo. 

To  leave  Toluca  without  ascending  the  volcano,  one  of 
the  many  places  which  Baron  von  Humboldt  made  famous, 
is  a  sore  trial,  for  'tis  said  that  from  that  height,  on  a  clear 
day,  one  can  see  the  Paci6c  Ocean,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  away.  The  journey  is  not  a  difficult  one  to  make, 
though  the  tourist  will  need  to  provide  a  full  camping 
outfit  therefor. 

The  city  is  a  miniature  of  the  big  capital,  with  its  square 
and  garden,  its  churches  and  governmental  palace.  The 
omnipresent  soldiers  loaf  about  the  entrance  of  the  latter, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  gain  admittance  to  the  halls  where- 
in the  Legislature  of  a  Mexican  state  holds  sway.  It 
speedily  becomes  apparent  that  the  inhabitants  of  Toluca 
spend  their  off  day  in  a  way  that  biings  to  the  surface  few 
ofross  exhibitions  of  license.  Thev  flood  the  streets  and 
square,  but  bear  themselves  sensibly  and  quietly,  sitting  by 
groups  in  the  sun,  strolling  about,  making  neighborly  calls, 
and,  above  all,  doing  something  to  make  the  day  a  bright 
spot  in  the  child-life  of  the  household.  No  little  one 
seems  to  be  abused  by  this  people,  and  tenderness  towards 
the  young  and  veneration  and  care  for  the  aged  appear  to 
be  almost  fixed  rules  of  conduct  with  all  classes. 

The  moit  lovable  side  of  Mexican  character — barring  a 


A  BULL-FIGni  AT  TOLUCA.  127 

good  deal  of  irregular  living — centres  in  their  domestic 
virtues.  Great  students  of  the  race  tell  us  that  man  is  the 
only  animal  that  abuses  the  female.  The  observation  that 
produced  this  melancholy  truism  was  not  supplied  with  its 
material  by  Mexicans,  much  as  these  people  cherish  bull- 
fighting, or  indulge  in  cock-pits  that  are  not  unknown  to 
New  England.  There  is  a  gentle  and  chivalrous  quality  to 
be  credited  over  against  that  cruel  streak  of  savagery  com- 
ing down  from  an  Indian  and  a  Castilian  ancestry. 

Since  the  Roman  Catholic  Cliurch  has  so  largely  lost  its 
hold  here,  the  people  do  not  mingle  enough  religion  with 
their  Sundays,  but  it  must  be  said,  also,  that  the  day  is 
one  of  outward  order,  an  occasion  for  physical  rest  and 
outdoor  recreation.  The  families  arc  not  divided  on  Sun- 
davs,  and  the  restraining  influences  that  go  with  the  home 
visibly  exercise  their  power.  The  scene  on  the  plaza  of 
Toluca  was  a  most  interesting  one.  Husband  and  wife 
watched  the  fish  that  circled  about  the  basin  of  the  foun- 
tain with  as  much  gusto  as  did  their  offspring,  and  parents 
shared  the  quiet,  juvenile  employments  of  the  children. 
During  many  hours  only  one  slightly  tipsy  man  marred 
the  scene,  and  he  was  quickly  and  quietly  suppressed  by 
the  police,  while  the  universal  good-humor  was  never  be- 
trayed into  anything  approaching  a  disagreement.  Smiles 
were  universal  and  politeness  habitual.  Could  that  much 
be  said  of  a  similar  day  in  any  city  of  the  United  States? 


IV. 

This  combat  of  men  with  bulls  is  set 

tbe  Spectators. 


The   Bull-Riug  and   e      e  »  i      i  i  ■  j  i 

**  for  four  o  clock,  and  is  supposed  to  crown 


the  pleasures  of  the  day.  Nut  knowing 
where  the  bull-fighting  is  to  take  place,  we  drift  with  the 
crowd  as  it  begins  to  move,  animated  by  a  common  pur- 


r,* 


128  MEXICO  or  TO-DAY. 

pose.  This  carries  us  to  the  Plaza  de  Toros,  a  wooden 
amphitheatre,  built  about  a  circus-ring,  around  which  the 
tiers  of  seats  rise  to  a  circle  of  boxes  above  them.  Mr. 
Carter,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  telegraph  service  of  the 
National  road,  and  has  seen  this  sort  of  thing  before,  sniffs 
at  the  wooden  structure  and  tells  of  more  splendid  rings 
that  are  surrounded  by  walls  of  stone. 

The  entrance  is  already  choked  by  men,  women,  and 
horses,  who  are  kept  in  order  by  a  file  of  soldiers,  while 
inside  a  brass  band  has  struck  up  an  inspiriting  air.  An 
usher  escorts  the  party  to  a  box  on  the  shady  or  aristocratic 
side  of  the  circle.  It  seems  that  sittings  on  the  sunny  side 
are  cheaper,  and  this  is  fortunate,  for  the  tiers  over  against 
us  fairly  swarm  with  life.  The  Indians  sit  there  as  happy 
as  lizards,  more  than  content  under  a  heat  that  would  broil 
an  American.  There  is  massed  color  of  a  robust,  kaleido- 
scopic splendor  that  makes  the  European  dress  a  mean 
thing,  and  dulls  the  finer  glory  of  the  Mexican  gentleman. 
The  peons  are  clothed  in  cotton,  against  which  the  brown 
hands,  faces,  and  necks  gleam  out  richly  under  the  broad 
hats,  and  each  bears  his  scrape  of  red,  blue,  brown,  gray, 
royal  purple,  or  mixed  coloring;  these  wraps  are  disposed 
in  numberless  ways  that  combine  to  heighten  the  gorgcous- 
ness  of  the  picture.  The  musicians  are  also  Indians,  who 
differ  in  no  respect  from  their  fellows  as  to  dress,  and  they 
play  divinely  without  a  printed  note.  Probably  they  can- 
not read,  for  music  seems  to  be  a  universal  endowment. 
Men  and  women  are  grouped  together,  the  latter  wearing 
shawls  with  that  mysterious  certainty  that  prevents  their 
falling  from  the  head  unless  the  wearer  so  wills  it.  These 
rebosos  swell  the  wave  of  color.  On  one  side  of  the 
half-circle  the  local  magnates  aj-e  on  exhibition,  and  in 
the  boxes  arc  some  of  the  beauties  of  the  city,  who  act 


The  Performers  aud 


A  BULL-FIG UT  AT  TOLUCA.  129 

about  as  their  sisters  do  at  a  horse-race  in  the  United 
States. 

Soon  the  whole  throng  arc  swayed  by  a  spasm  of  impa- 
tience, and  the  hoarse  cries  of  the  peons  vise  like  a  com- 
phiint  of  the  gallery-gods.  Music  has  no  power  to  soothe 
this  clamorous  demand  for  the  day's  spectacle,  and  the 
liubbub  is  only  quieted  by  the  opening  of  the  first  act. 

V. 

The  grand  procession,  composed  of  all 
the   actors   save   the   bulls,  now    enters. 

their  N\  ork- 

Ilcrc  is  a  trio  of  red-blanlccted  mules  who 
will  be  called  into  service  later  to  drag  off  the  slaughtered 
bull.  The  picadores  are  the  two  horsemen,  -whose  model 
should  be  the  S[)anish  knights  of  old  ;  they  arc  each  armed 
with  a  lance,  and  bestride  wretched  specimens  of  horse- 
flesh that  are  deemed  only  fit  for  death.  Then  come  the 
half-dozen  chulos,  men  on  foot,  who  are  gayly  decked  with 
ribbons  and  wear  highly-colored  cloaks.  Next,  as  chief 
actor,  the  star  of  the  occasion  and  fully  conscious  of  it,  is 
the  matador.  His  companion,  of  almost  equal  importance, 
bears  the  banderillos,  whose  character  and  uses  will  appear 
later. 

The  procession  moves  around  the  circle,  the  mules  re- 
tire, and  preparations  for  business  are  in  order.  At  con- 
venient distances  about  the  circle,  and  close  to  the  wooden 
wall,  arc  erected  barriers  behind  which  the  toreadorcs  or 
bullfighters  may  retire  when  hard  pressed  by  their  adver- 
sary. The  chulos  distribute  themselves  in  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  barriers,  ready  with  brilliant  cloths  to  tease  the 
bull;  the  horsemen,  who  are  protected  with  a  sole-leather 
armor,  as  are  the  sorry  steeds,  raise  their  lances  for  the  on- 
slaught; and  the  matador,  who  is  to  kill  the  animal  with 


130  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

his  long,  slender  sword,  puts  on  an  air  of  attention.  All  is 
ready ;  enter  bull  number  one. 

It  is  a  young,  black  creature,  not  of  the  first  order  of 
bravery,  but  he  makes  a  fair  fight  for  life.  He  catches 
sight  of  one  of  the  horsemen  and  makes  a  vicious  plunge 
for  him ;  the  rider  bears  him  off  with  the  lance,  pricking 
the  skin  of  the  bull,  who  darts  for  the  other  horseman ; 
the  red,  yellow,  and  purple  cloths  are  waved  at  him,  and 
he  is  diverted  into  rushing  again  and  again  after  the  cliu- 
los,  who  spring  behind  the  barriers  against  which  the  bull's 
horns  crash  at  very  short  intervals;  the  little  circle  is  a 
very  busy  and  exciting  arena,  for  now  the  bull  has  run  his 
horn  into  the  belly  of  one  of  the  horses,  and  its  rider  has 
been  overthrown  and  has  taken  flight  to  a  barrier.  The 
chulos  rush  forward  and  endeavor  to  attract  the  bull,  while 
the  other  horseman  shouts  a  defiance  that  calls  the  bull  to 
his  side.  Then  the  prostrate  horse  is  raised  and  proves  to 
be  little  injured.  The  bull  skirts  the  ring  and  sends  all 
his  tormentors  flying  to  cover;  but  he  is  beginning  to  lose 
pluck. 

It  is  now  in  order  for  the  horsemen  to  retire,  and  the 
chulos  advance  their  ingenious  torture  another  stage.  One 
of  them  comes  to  the  front  bearing  the  banderillos — barbed 
darts,  about  two  feet  long,  ornamented  with  colored  paper 
plumes — which  he  sticks  into  the  neck  of  the  animal,  dex- 
terously jumping  one  side  to  avoid  his  attacks.  The  smart 
of  this  indignity  rouses  the  bull  to  new  fury.  Now  comes 
the  final  act  of  the  tragedy.  The  matador  advances  alone 
and  the  bull  dives  at  him,  head  down.  This  is  an  expert 
fellow,  for  he  swerves  to  escape  the  attack,  and  with  deadly 
precision  plunges  his  sword  "  between  the  left  shoulder  and 
the  blade  " — the  black  bull  falls,  shudders,  and  is  dead. 
It  is  high  art  of  its  kind,  and  the  audience  are  delighted. 


A  BULL-FIG UT  AT  TOLUCA.         131 

The  smooth-faced  buU-stickcr — clad  in  kiicc-brecchcs  of 
bUie,  with  his  hair  in  a  queue,  and  a  coat  of  purple  and 
gold — visibly  swells  with  pride. 

It  is  now  possible  to  differentiate  the  characters  and  to 
understand  the  play.  This  is  a  tragedy  in  three  acts,  and 
its  bloody  properties  vary,  with  always  the  certainty  that 
the  life  of  the  bull  will  be  taken.  lie  can  win  the  applause 
of  the  crowd  that  pen  his  agony  about  by  selling  life  dear- 
ly, for  if  he  wounds  or  kills  in  return  the  delight  of  the 
spectators  is  greatly  enhanced,  so  much  that  on  rare  occa- 
sions he  may  win  freedom  again,  but  the  dumb  actor  is  not 
posted  on  all  this.  He  acts  out  nature,  and  plays  his  part 
well  or  ill  in  ignorance  of  all  remote  possibilities. 

VI. 

But  to  our  tragedy.    First  arc  the  horsc- 

The  Little  Red  Bull  i  "11*.         +    1  -ii  1 

...    „.    ,  men   who   may  repel   but   not  kill,  and 

and  the  Picador.  J         1  ' 

whose  risk  is  greater  than  would  be  com- 
fortable to  a  novice.  Then  the  man  who  inserts  the  barbed 
darts,  and  wlio  must  be  agile  to  escape  harm.  Last,  the 
athletic  butcher  who  undertakes  to  plant  the  long  sword 
in  the  vital  part.  The  lot  of  the  cliulos,  who  flirt  the  mad- 
dening cloths  in  all  the  acts  and  can  retreat  to  cover  at  any 
time,  is  the  happiest  of  all.  Theirs  is  the  most  boyish  and 
the  least  dignified  share  in  the  "sport." 

I>iit  now  another  bull  has  rushed  into  the  arena,  an  un- 
dersized red  animal  of  great  pluck.  The  people  are  all  at- 
tention, for  tliis  combatant  has  a  desperate  quality  that  the 
merest  tyro  may  discover,  lie  flies  like  an  arrow  at  the 
nearest  picador  and  pierces  the  belly  of  the  horse  even 
while  the  rider  parries  him  with  the  lance;  the  entrails  of 
the  woimdcd  creature  protrude,  but  he  is  regarded  as  good 
fur  service  yd;   the  chulos  distract  the  bull  only  for  a 


132  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

moment,  and  then  fly  wb?le  he  is  bearing  down  on  the 
other  horseman.  The  reddened  horn  gleams  -wickedly, 
and  its  owner  has  learned  that  lances  are  not  serious.  The 
picadore  wards  off  the  attack  well,  but  the  onslaught  is  ir- 
resistible ;  that  vicious  head  crashes  through  to  its  work, 
the  horns  are  buried  deep  in  the  horse,  and  steed  and  rider 
fall  to  the  earth. 

Now  see  the  crowd !  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  is 
standing,  and  the  din  is  deafening.  Sombreros  of  every 
hue,  from  the  straw  of  the  peon  to  the  brown  and  silver- 
banded  felt,  arc  shied  into  the  ring.  The  wretclied  horse 
lias  received  his  death-wound  and  is  gasping  in  the  throes  of 
dissolution.  How  will  the  rider  fare  ?  for  there  is  no  mercy 
in  this  little  red  bull.     Truly  it  seems  a  desperate  case.  * 

The  picador  is  pinned  for  an  instant,  and  ere  he  can  clear 
himself  or  the  chulos  can  rally  to  his  rescue,  that  gory  head  is 
again  active.  The  bull  plunges,  the  man  is  seen  lying  on  the 
forehead  and  face  between  the  wide  horns,  and  to  all  ap- 
pearance impaled  on  one  of  them.  Sickening  sensations 
of  unavailing  sympathy  and  creeping  slmdders  of  disgust  }i 

gallop  over  the  beholder.     But  the  man  clings  witli  a  des-  { 

perate  grip  about  the  neck  of  the  blinded  and  raging  beast. 
There  is  blood  on  his  clothing,  yet  his  clasp  is  strong,  and 
perhaps  the  horn-thrust  will  not  prove  fatal.     The  other  i 

inmates  of  the  ring  seem  strangely  slow,  while  in  reality 
they  have  acted  with  marvellous  rapidity,  and  the  bull  is 
overthrown  at  last.  As  he  falls  tlie  unfortunate  picador 
is  pulled  away.  He  does  not  faint,  there  is  no  gush  of 
blood,  and  in  fact  he  bears  but  a  scratch  on  his  side, 
after  all. 

Moved  by  a  characteristic  Southern  impulse  the  people 
cheer  and  throw  big,  round,  Mexican  dollars  at  the  hero  of 
the  day,  who  hobbles  about  picking  np  the  silver  hail  until 


A  BULLFIGHT  AT  TOLUCA.  133 

lie  carries  off  a  hatful  or  more,  the  happiest  man  in  the 
state  of  Mexico.    He  has  bought  fame,  and  got  it  cheap. 

Meanwhile  the  cochetero,  another  sticker,  despatches  the 
prostrate  bull  by  thrusting  a  small  dagger  into  the  nape  of 
the  neck  just  above  the  spinal  column.  The  work  is  clum- 
sily performed,  and  the  little  bull  quivers  and  kicks  and 
groans.  At  this  one  of  his  teasers  twists  the  tail  of  the 
dying  brute.  That  silly  piece  of  cowardice  is  too  much. 
Hot  Southern  curses  from  all  about  the  circle  pelt  the  author 
of  tliis  insult  to  a  game  actor,  so  lately  master  of  the  ring; 
and  a  venerable  and  staid  Mexican  in  one  of  the  boxes 
breaks  a  chair  to  express  the  indignation  that  words  will 
not  convey.  It  is  a  wonder  that  his  example  docs  not  prove 
contagious.  Such  exhibitions  of  prevailing  and  destructive 
rage  are  not  infrequent. 

Thus  the  little  red  bull  receives  high  honor  in  his  death — 
but  it  is  like  plaudits  sometimes  given  to  men,  late  and  un- 
appreciated glory. 

Reaction  follows  such  tension  as  this  has  been,  and 
fortunately  we  can  open  our  box-door  to  a  balcony  which 
commands  a  view  of  the  sunlit  volcano,  whose  great,  white 
head  sparkles  with  rosy  radiance  in  the  western  sun. 

But  shouts  from  within  announce  that  another  bull  has 
entered.  He  is  a  big  black  fellow  of  only  average  spirit. 
The  conditions  of  the  fight  have  changed.  The  men  who 
just  now  had  more  than  they  could  manage  on  the  defen- 
sive, act  on  the  offensive  ;  but  interest  in  this  speedily  flags, 
and  the  bull  is  lassoed  and  stabbed  in  the  spine.  The 
mules  drag  off  this  bull,  as  they  have  taken  away  his  two 
predecessors  and  the  horse. 

Another  bull  of  good  ability  brings  the  matador  into  dis- 
credit by  not  permitting  that  dandy  to  stick  him,  the  horse- 
men lasso  him,  and  the  butcher  ends  his  torture. 


134  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

One  wonders  wbat  is  done  with  the  flesh  of  these  creat- 
ures, but  probably  we  shall  eat  steak  to-morrow  that  has 
been  killed  in  this  way.  Mexican  beef,  by  the  way,  does 
not  compare  with  ours  in  flavor;  none  of  it  is  grain  fed, 
and  the  pasturage  does  not  seem  to  make  juicy  fatness. 

The  exercises  of  the  day  end  with  the  introduction  of  a 
bull  with  balls  on  his  horns,  and  the  ring  is  thrown  open  to 
the  boys,  who  flirt  their  scrapes  and  practise  to  become 
bnll-fighters. 

The  crowd  disperse  in  good  order,  and  the  special  train 
to  the  city  of  Mexico  discloses  not  a  sign  of  rowdyism. 
We  get  in  town  so  as  to  dine  most  comfortably,  after  ten 
o'clock,  in  the  French  restaurant  out  of  whose  windows 
Maximilian's  officers  used  to  stare  at  the  senoritas. 


CHAPTER  XT. 

THE    YOUNG    MEN    IN    POLITICS. 
I. 

The  year  1884  developed  the  mugwump 

Appenrancc  of  the      •      -xr      •  •«.   t  i  •      1.1      tt    -i.    3  oi.   j. 

Mexican  Mu.'wumps.  '"  Mcxico,  as  it  did  in  theLnitcd  States, 
and  what  was  a  natural  and  inevitable 
outgrowth  of  your  politics  was  a  phenomenon  here.  Never- 
theless, the  bold,  independent  action  of  the  young  leaders  in 
Congress,  backed  by  tiie  students  of  the  republic,  was  not  so 
surprising  a  thing,  in  fact,  as  it  might  seem  on  first  thought. 
You  will  remember  that  the  great  middle  class  of  sober, 
sensible,  God-fearing  citizenship  is  wanting  here.  Any  pro- 
test against  despotism  and  wanton  extravagance  or  mis- 
government  must  come  from  the  top  or  educated  class. 

Tlie  last  two  years  of  the  administration  of  President 
Gonzalez  had  been  corrupt  and  extravagant  to  such  a  ruin- 
ous extent  that  the  finances  of  the  country  were  disordered 
to  the  point  of  bankruptcy,  and  the  people  turned  instinct- 
ively towards  General  Diaz  for  relief.  The  prosperity 
which  he  had  fostered  during  the  four  years  that  ended  in 
1880  had  been  wantonly  dissipated.  It  is  probably  a  fact 
that  Diaz  was  besought  to  take  forcible  possession  of  the 
government,  as  had  been  so  often  done  before  ;  but  he  said, 
in  effect  if  not  in  words:  "No.  Let  this  man  serve  out 
his  term.  The  maintenance  of  the  orderly  processes  of 
law  arc  worth  more  to  Mexico  than  present  succor."  This 
gives  emphasis  to  that  passage  in  his  message  which  says: 


136  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

"For  the  second  time  since  1877  the  transmission  of  the 
executive  power  of  the  republic  has  taken  place  at  the  close 
of  the  constitutional  term,  without  any  accident  troubling 
the  ceremony."  To  this  the  Mexican  Financier  appended  : 
"He  might  have  added  that  the  peaceful  transmission  of 
power  now  occurs  for  only  the  third  time  in  the  history  of 
the  republic,  and  he  might  still  further  have  added  that  it 
has  occurred  now  because  of  the  faith  that  the  Mexican 
people  have  in  his  political  and  personal  integrity." 

In  the  closing  weeks  of  General  Gonzalez'  term  he 
sought  to  convert  the  English  debt  by  an  issue  of  new 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $86,000,000.  The  will  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  such  matters  had  been  law  to  Congress  in  the 
past,  and  this  scheme  was  advanced  as  having  the  sanction 
of  General  Diaz.  All  the  preliminaries  had  been  concluded, 
and  the  matter  was  presented  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
for  formal  ratification.  Objection  there  was,  of  course,  un- 
looked  for ;  the  project  was  endorsed  very  generally  by  the 
business  men  of  Mexico,  and  it  had  received  the  approval 
of  a  committee  of  the  Chamber. 

As  studied  in  the  light  of  the  fate  which  overtook  this 
measure,  it  is  plain  that  the  terras  of  the  bill  made  possible 
great  frauds  and  were  not  desirable  in  other  ways.  The  de- 
tails in  proof  of  this  are  not  essential  now.  It  was  another 
adroit  opening  for  public  plunder,  greater  than  the  more 
covert  schemes  that  had  brought  a  vast  fortune  to  the 
soldier-president,  and  enriched  his  satellites  and  henchmen. 
To  act  on  such  a  proposition  at  such  a  time  would  have 
been  expected  nowhere  save  in  Mexico,  but  there  it  was 
confidently  discounted. 

That  the  measure  met  challenge  and  defeat  means  that  it 
provoked  a  momentous  but  peaceful  revolution,  such  as  this 
half-baked  republic  never  before  had  experienced.     For  the 


THE  YOUNG   MEX  IX  POLITICS.  I37 

fii-st  time  Congress  asserted  its  constitutional  prerogatives. 
It  blocked  and  rebuked  the  executive,  and  refused  to  com- 
mit the  country  to  a  policy  which  was  at  least  open  to  grave 
criticism.  The  story  of  those  November  debates  has  been 
told,  but  the  historic  scenes  then  enacted  are  well  worth  re- 
calling now  as  illustrative  of  the  new  day  that  is  coming 
to  this  hitherto  turbulent  country. 

II. 

The  Senate  convenes  in  the  national 
ThcNaiionni  Congress       ,^^  ^^j^.  ^j^^  Chamber  of  Deputies  is 

HI  isCSSIOU.  '  '  '■  ^ 

housed  in  the  old  theatre  of  Iturbidc, 
over  half  a  mile  distant.  Let  us  look  in  upon  that  body 
in  session. 

The  old  plavhousc  is  dingy  and  smoke-clouded,  for  the 
honorable  dci)utics  puff  cigarettes  and  cigars  with  tremen- 
dous assiduity.  Even  the  veteran  smoker  who  may  sit 
among  the  spectators  is  moved  to  quote  Daniel  Pratt's  fa- 
mous remark,  when  the  college  boys  undertook  to  *'  smoke 
Lim  out" — "  Gentlemen,  your  speaker  is  not  a  ham." 

The  ample  stage  is  occupied  by  the  president  and  secre- 
taries, and  above  the  desk  and  head  of  the  presiding  officer, 
who  corresponds  to  our  speaker,  is  a  red -plush  canopy 
which  is  surmounted  with  the  gilded  eagle  of  Mexico. 
Miicli  of  the  floor  of  the  house  is  left  opi-n,  tiers  of  seats 
running  around  the  semicircle.  The  members  have  no 
fixed  abiding-places,  but  sit  where  they  please.  They  are 
not  provided  with  desks,  and,  having  no  very  active  con- 
stituents, do  not  vote  themselves  stationery  and  postage- 
stamps  wherewith  to  write  letters  to  the  dear  people.  The 
once  resplendent  boxes  are  set  apart  for  the  reporters,  who 
display  nothing  like  the  interest  in  the  proceedings  that 
would  be  shown  by  their  brethren  in  iiny  An)crican  logisla- 


138  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

tive  body.  Their  reports  are  usually  confined  to  a  very 
brief  routine  summary.  Behind  the  dingy,  gilded  fronts 
of  the  three  galleries  spectators  are  at  liberty  to  watch  the 
proceedings  of  the  lawmakers.  The  desk  of  the  president 
is  an  elaborate  structure  on  which  stand  brass  candelabra, 
and  the  secretaries  sit  at  long,  green-covered  tables  on  either 
side.  Over  the  centre  of  the  floor  hangs  a  huge,  old-fash- 
ioned chandelier  that  is  a  relic  from  the  days  of  sperm  can- 
dles. We  passed  a  file  of  armed  police  on  our  entrance, 
and  these  guardians  of  the  peace  are  posted  here  and  there 
in  the  galleries. 

Barring  the  smoking,  and  that  is  attended  to  in  a  dainty 
way,  the  decorum  is  absolute ;  no  statesman  ever  tilts  his 
chair  back  or  places  his  feet  on  the  railings,  sports  a  tooth- 
pick or  toys  with  his  penknife  ;  there  is  no  tearing  of 
papers,  or  clapping  of  the  hands  to  summon  pages.  The 
personnel  of  the  body  is  high.  All  are  well  dressed  and 
of  gentlemanly  demeanor.  No  member  wears  the  national 
costume,  but  all  are  clad  in  dark,  European  garments,  topped 
off  with  a  silk  hat  or  Derby.  The  Aztec  tinge  is  scarcely 
discernible,  most  of  the  deputies  being  as  white  as  any 
body  of  American  men.  Among  these  picked  representa- 
tives of  the  republic — lawyers,  soldiers,  scholars,  and  busi- 
ness men — are  some  striking  faces,  and  inquiry  shows  that 
these  belong  to  men  who  have  made  their  mark  here  or 
elsewhere. 

The  president  is  Seiior  Limantaur,  of  French  descent, 
who  owns  a  palace  on  Profesa  Street.  He  calls  the  body 
to  order  by  ringing  a  bell.  Soon  the  clerk  is  reading  a 
communication  from  the  minister  of  finance  settinir  forth 
the  state  of  the  country,  and  he  employs  the  same  clear  but 
monotonous  tone  that  is  characteristic  of  all  reading  clerks. 

The  oratory  of  this  people  is  said  to  be  impetuous,  fluent. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  IX  POLITICS.  139 

attractive,  and  somewhat  wanting  in  solid  qualities — more 
Celtic  than  AVcbsterian. 

ni. 

Dinz  Mirou  and  the  The  astonishing  comiption  that  had 
Victory  of  the  Siu-  llourislicd  under  President  Gonzalez  was 
'^*^"'®-  talked  about  everywhere  in  1884,  but  de- 

nunciation of  it  was  confined  to  private  speech.  All  men 
knew  that  the  orator  who  should  assume  to  tell  the  truth 
about  this  evil  in  high  places  would  risk  liberty  if  not  life 
in  the  undertaking.  No  political  campaigns  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  men  and  measures  and  principles  here  precede  a 
national  election,  and  in  a  land  habituated  to  military 
domination  such  free  discussion  will  have  to  be  a  plant  of 
slow  growth  under  the  best  auspices.  AVith  a  military  man 
in  the  presidency,  the  hardihood  of  Diaz  Miron,  of  Vera 
Cruz,  the  youngest  member  of  the  Chamber,  in  assuming 
to  defy  the  government,  will  be  appreciated.  Men  who 
dared  in  this  way  might  look  to  find  themselves  in  private 
life,  or  languishing  in  prison,  or  banished  to  Yucatan.  Pre- 
texts for  such  penalties  are  easy  to  find  when  an  unscru- 
pulous central  power  seeks  them. 

Knowing  all  that,  this  pale  young  lawyer,  only  twenty- 
six  years  old,  decided  to  tell  the  truth.  lie  took  coun- 
sel of  Lis  own  patriotism,  crossed  the  floor,  mounted  the 
tribune,  and  faced  the  deputies — a  thin-faced,  mustached, 
feeble-lookinf;  bov,  whose  hair  rose  in  a  black  shock — and 
began  his  attack  on  Gonzalez  and  the  agreement  made  in 
London  for  the  conversion  into  new  bonds  of  the  old  debt 
due  English  bondholders,  in  these  words :  "  I  rise  to  sacri- 
fice ambition  to  honor.  I  abandon  all  hopes  of  entering 
'■  Congress  again  rather  than  approve  what  will  be  the  ruin 
of  my  country.''    In  a  rapid,  nervous  way,  but  with  a  voice 


140 


MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 


.<\ft^a-.  ^ A«  jfa--^    \    A    \]A  ii<eAji&\0>^%i_tJU<%^  \^  ^ 


SALVATOR   DIAZ  MIKON. 


that  was  heard  all  over  the  building,  he  exhibited  the  weak- 
nesses of  the  pending  agreement,  and  arraigned  the  presi- 
dent with  unsparing  severity  for  the  misdeeds  of  the  ad- 
ministration. It  was  a  eomprehensive  indictment  for  which 
the  bond  qnestion  opened  the  way.  lie  closed  by  moving 
to  postpone  the  whole  subject  until  after  the  inauguration 
of  Diaz.  In  manner,  in  matter,  and  in  effect  it  was  a  re- 
markable performance. 


TnE  YOUNG  MEN  IN  POLITICS.  141 

Tliat  speech  gave  Miron  a  baclcing  such  as  no  one  would 
have  looked  for,  and  was  tlic  spark  that  fired  tlic  younf? 
life  of  Moxioo  with  serious  purpose,  and  woke  it  to  instant 
action.  AVithin  twenty-four  liours  the  students  were  or- 
ganized atjainst  tlie  government  so  as  to  constitute  a  new 
force  in  politics.  They  cl)cered  Miron  to  the  echo,  aroused 
the  people,  and  filled  the  galleries.  Their  enthusiasm  car- 
ried thcin  to  the  length  of  extreme  disi-cspcet  to  the  sup- 
porters of  the  government  bill,  and  the  police  were  unable 
to  quell  their  ardor  during  the  many  days  over  which  the 
debate  was  continued. 

Popular  support  was  freely  given  to  the  students  in  their 
defiance  of  a  government  which  had  forfeited  the  respect 
of  the  governed,  and  this  solid  opinion,  thus  voiced,  final- 
ly carried  the  day.  The  city  was  in  a  turuioil,  the  mili- 
tary was  abroad,  doors  and  windows  were  bolted  and 
barrel! ;  but  still  the  students  paraded  the  streets  and 
filled  the  galleries  of  the  Chamber,  and  still  the  debate 
went  on,  the  reformers  fighting  with  brilliant  courage.  At 
the  end  of  four  days,  by  a  vote  of  94  to  58,  the  depu- 
ties refused  to  reject  the  report  of  their  committee,  and 
passed  it  to  discussion,  article  by  article.  AVhen  the  first 
article  was  broached  the  uproar  became  so  great  that  the 
president  lost  all  control  of  the  Chamber.  The  rules  pro- 
vide that  when  the  galleries  cannot  be  kept  in  onler  the 
body  may  go  into  secret  session,  bnt  when  the  Chair  or- 
dered this  action  the  minority  declared  that  they  would 
break  a  fpioruni  rather  than  submit,  and  so  adjournment 
followed.  The  majority  was  steadily  losing  its  strength 
under  the  |)Ower  of  public  opinion,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
seventh  day's  debate  the  proposition  urged  at  the  opening 
of  this  remarkable  conflict  by  young  Miron  was  adopted, 
and  the  matter  was  postponed  until  the  advent  of  I'resi- 
dent  r)iaz,  and  that  by  acclamation  ! 


142  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

From  a  merely  passive  instrument  in  tlie  Lands  of  the 
president  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  Congress 
had  passed  to  the  exercise  of  its  constitutional  liberty.  It 
had  for  the  first  time  appeared  in  the  self-respecting  role 
of  a  law-making  body. 


IV. 

It  was  a  famous  victory.     I  find  busi- 
ng 

lution  in  Ecview. 


The  Bloodless  Eevo-  i  ii     i  ii  •  •  e 

ness  men  who  say  that  the  provisions  of 


the  bond  agreement  were  pretty  fair  as  a 
whole,  and  who  sharply  criticise  the  conduct  of  the  stu- 
dents in  literally  crying  down  the  opposition.  Certainly 
no  body  of  American  lawmakers  would  have  tolerated  such 
a  high-handed  proceeding;  but  conditions  always  qualify 
actions.  Perhaps  the  significance  of  the  demonstration 
was  generally  overrated,  as  it  certainly  was  in  some  re- 
spects; but  the  impartial  student  of  Mexican  affairs  may 
allow  something  of  all  this,  and  yet  he  will  recognize  in 
this  outbreak  of  honest  indignation  and  effective  resistance 
a  ])rofound  meaning. 

These  mercurial  Southerners  illuminated  their  city,  made 
heroes  of  the  students,  saw  Gonzalez  depart  with  a  univer- 
sal scowl,  and  welcomed  Diaz  almost  as  the  saviour  of  his 
country.  The  Mexicans  are  strong  in  flashing  out  im- 
promptu celebrations,  and  quick  to  seize  opportunities  for 
imposing  but  fleeting  demonstrations;  but  they  are  pitia- 
bly weak  in  those  stable  and  intelligent  qualities  that  go 
to  make  up  government  by  the  people.  The  Indians  sad- 
ly need  schooling,  and  the  educated  classes  lack  training  in 
the  duties  of  citizenship. 

There  is  said  to  be  a  movement  under  way  to  awaken 
more  popular  interest  in  the  pending  and  future  congres- 
sional elections.     This  rather  tentative  "movement"  illu- 


THE  YOUNG   MEN   IN   rOLlTlCS.  143 

minates  the  vital  deficiencies  of  republican  government  in 
Mexico.  That  really  is  little  more  than  a  shell  as  yet. 
Certainly  it  is  far  from  being  a  living,  responsive  organism 
of  the  people  who 

"...  know  their  rights,  and,  knowing,  dare  maintain." 

The  work  that  confronts  statesmen  here  dwarfs  by  com- 
parison similar  problems  now  so  well  towards  solution  in 
the  United  States, 

It  is  a  cheering  sign  that  the  educated  young  Mexican 
has  learned  that  misrule  can  be  successfully  thwarted  with- 
out bloodshed,  and  that  the  power  of  public  opinion  is 
greater  than  an  army.  He  should  have  discovered,  too,  that 
in  patient  organization  and  popular  education  lie  the  only 
sure  hope  for  the  perpetuation  of  a  vitally  free  government. 
It  wa.s  said  that  the  young  men  proposed  to  band  together 
all  over  the  republic  for  future  action;  but  the  work  that 
ought  to  have  followed  this  brilliant  but  temporary  achieve- 
ment has  probably  not  been  systematically  carried  out.  The 
Southern  character  would  not  be  belied  if  the  students  failed 
to  make  the  most  of  their  opportunity  for  welding  their 
iulluencc  into  a  permanent  force.  The  union  that  is  strength 
is  not  the  growth  of  a  week,  however  commanding  the  de- 
mands of  that  time  may  liave  been,  and  only  organized 
vigilance  is  eternal  enough  to  buy  a  first-class  article  of 
liberty. 

V. 

The  reform  wing  of  the  Liberal  party 
"^''^T.arTy'"'"  ^^"^  ^"^^s  not  at  present  appear  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  as  a  powerful  minority. 
One  is  interested  in  tracing  the  resemblances  to  American 
politics  that  exist  here.  The  bugaboo  of  the  Liberals  is 
the  Church  parlv,  now  practically  unrepresented  in  affairs. 
6 


144  MEXICO  OF   TO-DAY. 

The  too-ardent  advocates  of  Liberal  regeneration  are  warned 
lest  they  imperil  all  by  opening  the  door  to  the  Church 
party.  Your  old,  practical  politicians  look  on  Miron  as  a 
poet  and  an  enthusiast;  consider  him  as  impracticable,  in 
^hort,  as  old  stagers  in  the  United  States  declare  the  youth- 
ful mugwumps  to  be.  Yet  down  in  Vera  Cruz  Miron  is 
very  much  respected.  That  state  is  intelligent  and  pro- 
gressive, occupying  somewhat  the  position  in  this  republic 
that  Massachusetts  does  in  the  American  Union.  Other 
reform  Liberal  leaders  are  Duret  and  Vinez. 

These  men  are  supporters  of  Diaz,  and  they  would  have 
Congress  take  measures  looking  towards  a  sharp  and  thor- 
ough investigation  of  the  acts  of  the  preceding  adminis- 
tration ;  but  the  majority,  who  fear  to  disrupt  the  party 
and  imperil  the  stability  of  the  government,  will  not  go 
with  them.  The  reformers  also  insist  that  the  govern- 
ment must  throw  its  contracts  open  to  public  competition, 
that  honesty  and  economy  may  prevail.  These  men  would 
draw  the  line  between  the  legislative  and  executive  depart- 
ments of  the  government,  and  thereby  regain  functions 
which  have  been  usurped.  They  object  to  giving  the 
president  extraordinary  powers,  are  opposed  to  militarism, 
believe  in  a  republican  form  of  government  as  a  matter 
of  practice,  and  strenuously  hold  that  the  time  for  a  dic- 
tatorship has  gone  by.  These  young  leaders  of  the  op- 
position are  idolized  by  the  students.  They  were  de- 
feated on  all  important  measures  at  the  recent  session  of 
Congress,  as  they  no  doubt  expected  to  be,  and  could  af- 
ford to  be.     They  wait  on  the  progress  of  Mexico. 

It  is  only  eight  years  ago  that  Congress  refused  to  grant 
a  railroad  charter  to  the  frontier  of  the  United  States,  in 
response  to  the  address  of  an  eloquent  member  who  de- 
clared it  to  be  "a  natural  law  of  history  that  border  na- 


TUE  YOl'SG  MEN   L\   rOLITICS.  145 

tions  arc  enemies,"  that  "  nations  of  the  North  generally 
invade  nations  of  the  South  ;"  honoc  "  we  should  always 
fear  the  United  States."  llo  closed  his  speech  in  this 
way  :  "  You,  the  deputies  of  the  states,  would  you  exchange 
your  poor  but  beautiful  liberty  of  the  present  for  the  rich 
subjection  which  the  railroad  could  give  you?  Go  and 
propose  to  the  lion  of  the  desert  to  exchange  his  cave  of 
rocks  for  a  golden  cage,  and  the  lion  of  the  desert  will  an- 
swer yon  with  a  roar  of  liberty."  Contrast  that  attitude 
with  the  position  taken  by  the  young  Liberals  of  to-day, 
and  YOU  will  understand  the  progress  which  Mexico  has 
made. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


"  THE    ITALY    OF    AMERICA." 


I. 

Frederick   E.   Church,  who   painted 
A  Famous  stamping-,  ^j      Heart  of  the  Andes,"    says   that 

Ground  for  Tourists.  _        _  _  . 

Mexico  is  the  paradise  of  artists,  "  the  It- 
aly of  America."  He  made  his  third  or  fourth  visit  in  the 
winter  of  1885-86,  and  though  ill-health  has  laid  a  restrain- 
ing hand  on  his  work, the  artistic  sense  remains  full  and  strong 
and  discriminating.  It  is  pleasant  to  be  reinforced  by  this 
expert  opinion,  for  Mr.  Church  has  pursued  his  studies  in 
many  lands,  and  the  rich  fruits  of  his  travels  have  added  to 
the  art-wealth  of  the  world ;  but  no  person  of  average  in- 
telligence can  escape  the  conviction  that  on  its  picturesque 
side  there  is  everything  to  be  said  in  favor  of  this  sunny 
country  that  is  so  prodigal  in  its  coloring,  so  extravagant 
in  riotous  vegetation,  and  so  unapproachable  in  its  moun- 
tain scenery. 

The  life  of  the  people  takes  on  phases  of  character  and 
of  incident  that  must  resemble  Italy  much,  but  Syria  more. 
The  similitude  to  Eastern  life  finds  a  curious  recoo-nition  in 
the  local  tradition  that  Christ,  returning  again  to  the  earth, 
wandered  disconsohite  over  the  unfamiliar  countries  of  Eu- 
rope only  to  seek  Mexico  as  the  spot  which  most  reminded 
him  of  the  scenes  amid  which  he  had  before  walked  and 
suffered  and  died. 

Every  spot  in  the  quaint  old  city  of  Mexico  is  made  fas- 


"TIIE   ITALY   OF   AMERICA." 


147 


OLD  SP.VNIsn  PALACE   IX  THE   CALLE  DE  JESUS. 

clnatinf^  by  bistoric  associations  tbat  run  back  to  Cortcz, 
the  Montezunias,  and  bc3'ond  to  a  more  exalted  civilization 
llian  the  Spaniards  found;  and  can  be  made  to  illustrate 
all  the  successions  of  turmoil  that  have  marked  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  way  to  this  hour.  With  so  much  material 
]\\n^  all  about  him,  the  passing  tourist  can  only  gather 
something  characteristic  here  and  there  that  shall  contrib- 
ute to  a  fair  general  impression.  To  the  antifjuarian,  the 
painter,  the  poet,  the  novelist — the  specialist  in  all  litera- 
ture and  art — Mexico  is  a  treasure-house  full  of  the  richest 
chambers.     The  high  human  interest  is  not  wanting — tho 


148 


MEXICO  OF   TO-DAY. 


antiquities,  the  history,  and  the  legendary  romance — but 
the  knowledge  that  is  to  make  the  old  and  the  new  vital 
and  living,  to  give  them  a  fitting  place  in  books  and  paint- 
ing, is  largely  to  come.  Something  has  been  done,  but 
much  more  remains  to  be  accomplished. 


11. 


The  Great  Influx  of 
Touiists. 


More  tourists  will  see  Mexico  the  com- 
ing winter  than  during  any  previous  sea- 
son, and  this  is  but  the  beginning  of 
travel  in  this  direction ;  while  this  most  brilliant  city  on 
the  continent  is  more  truly  than  ever  the  capital  of  Mex- 
ico. Thither  come  visitors  from  all  the  states,  lured  to  the 
federal  district  by  the  railroads,  and  making  what  was  be- 
fore a  tedious  journey,  beset  often  by  brigands,  with  a  com- 
fort not  known  in  Europe.  The 
rich  men  of  Mexico  used  to  be  al- 
together more  familiar  with  the 
Continent  than  with  the  United 
States,  and  your  railroad  enter- 
prises have  not  only 
been  instruments  of 
enlightenment,  but 
they  have  greatly 
tended  to  unify  this 
nation.  Whereas 
most  people  in  Mex- 
ico were  fated  to 
live  and  die  with- 
out having  seen  any 
state  but  their  own, 
now  they  seek  the 
A  TTTiCAL  nousE-FRONT.  chlcf  city  vcry  read- 


"THE  ITALY   OF  AMERICA." 


149 


ily,  and   national   pride  is  awak- 
ened or  deepened. 

This  Rome  of  the  New  World 
tanijles  the  visitor  in  its  web  of 
historic  association  at  every  step. 
The  very  names  of  the  streets  arc 
landmarks   of   history ; 
the   buildinii^s    are    not 
only   old   and  splendid 
in  themselves  and  arch- 
itectural! v     instructive, 
but  they  are  often  the 
work    of    the    Spanish 
conquerors,    while    the 
relics    of    the     people 
who      antedated      the 
Conquest  appeal  to  us 
as  something  native  to 
this     continent.      The  *^  '       '„  „.,.  ^„.^t 

ruKk.LLAI.\     lIiiL'SK     IN    SAN    FRAN- 

flavor  of  this  past  be-  cisco  street. 

longs  to  us,  and  in  re- 
moter parts  of  the  country  it  has  lapped  over  into  the 
present. 

It  will  be  well  to  see  Mexico  before  modern  ways  shall 
have  effaced  much  or  all  of  this  and  qualified  the  romance 
with  too  much  of  modern  invention.  From  the  Indian 
street  life  to  the  grand  mountains  that  gird  about  the 
mighty  plain  with  its  great  lakes,  this  city  is  full  of  artis- 
tic suggcsli(jn.  Tlie  beggar,  the  water-carrier,  the  univer- 
sal ass,  the  baby-laden  mothers,  the  peon  carrying  his  bur- 
den of  fruit  or  fowls,  the  market  scenes,  the  ladies  out 
sliopping  or  un  their  balconies,  the  Mexican  as  he  emerges 
from  some  timcworn  doorway — all  these,  with  a  huinlrod 


150  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

combinations  of  surrounding  and  color,  tempt  the  brush 
as  tbey  delight  the  eye. 


III. 

Art  is  at  home  here,  and  had  found 

he  Az-      ^„ 
m 

tecs. 


Art  among  the  Az-     ^^^^  ^-^^^  ^  ^^^^^  expression  hundreds  of 


years  before  Puritan  feet  pressed  the  soil 
of  New  England.  The  Aztecs  depicted  events  and  record- 
ed history  by  means  of  picture-'writing,  and  when  the  Span- 
iards landed,  in  1519,  the  accomplished  painters  of  Monte- 
zuma transmitted  to  him  the  full  and  strange  details  of 
that  event  in  a  primitive  Harper'' s  Weekly.  It  is  reasona- 
ble to  suppose  that  their  skill  was  greater  than  that  which 
marks  most  of  the  pictures  that  now  disfigure  many  daily 
newspapers,  for  the  native  ruler  certainly  gained  from  their 
work  a  very  clear  idea  of  what  the  artists  intended  to 
convey. 

While  the  first  bishop  of  Mexico  made  himself  infamous 
by  burning  the  best  and  most  valuable  Aztec  manuscripts 
and  paintings,  one  of  the  viceroys  was  sensible  enough  to 
employ  learned  Indians  in  the  production  of  others,  and 
the  best  examples  of  this  early  work  on  deerskin  or  ma- 
guey-paper are  to  be  found  in  European  libraries.  Anti- 
quarians make  out  some  most  interesting  chapters  of  history 
therefrom,  showing  that  the  arts  of  metal  casting,  the  man- 
ufacture of  jewelry,  and  so  on,  passed  from  the  Toltecs  to 
the  Aztecs ;  while  the  chief  local  events  of  the  period  from 
1298  to  the  Conquest  are  said  to  be  well  defined. 

The  museum  in  the  national  palace  would  furnish  abun- 
dant material  for  months  of  profitable  study,  its  walls  com- 
prehending the  three  departments  of  natural  liistory,  ar- 
chaeology, and  bibliography.  The  native  Americans  were 
famous  workers  in  silver  and  gold,  the  products  of  their 


"THE  ITALY  OF  AMERICA."  15.I 

skill  comniaudiiii:;  the  adniiration  of  the  goklsmiths  of  Eu- 
rope;  but  nothing  of  tliis  sort  escaped  the  cupidity  of  the 
Europeans,  who  turned  all  such  plunder  into  the  melting- 
pot. 

IV. 

Filigree-work.    Wax       ^"^   distinctive  legacy    of    native  art 
Fifjiircs,  and  Straw  that  has  bccn  ])erpetuated  from  the  most 
ictnres.  ancient  civilization   is  the  famous  Mexi- 

can silver  filigree- work.  Nothing  superior  is  made  in  the 
world,  and  crosses  as  delicate  as  any  fretwork  done  by  Jack 
Frost,  and  almost  at  times  rivalling  tlic  web  of  the  spider, 
arc  common  in  all  sizes.  Ladies'  pins  of  characteristic  de- 
signs, such  us  the  open  fan,  the  guitar,  or  butterfly ;  ear- 
drops of  the  most  ingenious  construction,  scarf-pins,  and 
hair  ornaments,  are  familiar  to  jewellers  everywhere. 

Shopkeepers  now  cater  to  the  tourist  trade  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  hric-a-hrac  of  the  country  can  be  bought 
in  EI  Paso  or  Santa  Fe  at  about  the  same  prices  that  must 
be  paid  here,  and,  wlien  the  custom-house  charges  are  add- 
ed, the  tourist  will  do  quite  as  well  to  make  most  of  liis 
purchases  on  the  American  side  of  the  border.  The  silver- 
smiths of  the  days  of  Cortcz  were  apparently  buried  years 
and  years  ago,  and  the  jewelry  of  the  shops  lias  been  im- 
ported. In  the  government  pawnshop  the  tourist  who 
covets  "a  bargain"  may  now  and  then  light  on  something 
to  delight  his  soul,  but  the  gleaners  in  this  field  are  many. 
Some  of  the  scrapes  sold  in  the  shops  are  of  exquisite  de- 
signs, the  blending  of  colors  being  as  rich  and  satisfying 
as  the  combinations  of  the  Roman  scarf.  The  lace  man- 
tillas found  in  the  hands  of  professional  curiosity  venders 
are  as  expensive  licre  as  tlicy  would  be  in  New  York,  but 
now  and  then  a  prize  of  tliis  kind  may  be  picked  up  that 
ii  worth  having.  An  American  resident  showed  me  one 
G* 


152  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

that  he  had  secured  in  a  native  shop  for  $4  that  •would  be 
worth  $100  in  New  York. 

There  are  bookstores  under  the  arcades  scattered  about 
town  where  the  bibliomaniac  may  discover  now  and  then 
tomes  that  are  old  enough  to  be  almost  priceless,  and  of 
whose  value  the  vender  has  little  conception.  Finds  of 
this  kind  are  always  regarded  as  fair  prey  by  people  with 
whom  honesty  is  a  principle  to  be  rigidly  practised  in  all 
other  relations  of  life.  The  probability  that  the  volume 
has  been  stolen  helps  to  support  their  exception  to  the  fixed 
rule  of  conduct. 

The  love  of  music  and  of  art  is  born  in  these  Indians, 
and  the  execution  of  both  comes  to  them  without  trainina:. 
The  burst  of  song  is  as  spontaneous,  free,  and  delightful 
as  in  southern  Italy,  and  the  universality  of  the  artistic 
sense  seems  a  strange  possession  to  find  on  American  soil. 

This  is  most  characteristically  exhibited  in  the  wax  fig- 
ures that  represent  every  phase  of  street  life  with  minute 
fidelity.  Over  the  carefully  moulded  wax  is  fitted  a  spe- 
cially prepared  cloth,  the  exact  tint  of  the  native  complex- 
ion, arid  the  figures  are  taken  from  life.  The  beggar,  with 
his  scarce  concealed  nakedness  and  carefully  reproduced 
deformity,  is  petrified  into  miniature  reality  ;  the  mother 
and  her  babe,  suspended  in  the  omnipresent  reboso,  aro 
formed  to  perfection  and  clothed  as  in  life  ;  the  venders 
of  fruits  and  flowers  carry  their  wares  so  colored  by  the 
untutored  artist  as  to  resemble  the  full-grown  product; 
and  the  Mexican  gentleman  on  horseback  is  a  very  centaur, 
full  of  prancing  vigor.  Habits  and  costumes  are  repro- 
duced to  perfection  iu  these  "  rag-figures,"  as  they  are 
called. 

Feather-work  is  another  high  Indian  accomplishment,  an 
heirloom  from  the  Toltecs.     The  plumage  of  gorgeous 


"THE   ITALY   OF  AMERICA."  153 

tropical  birds  is  combined  to  make  feather  pictures  that 
are  artistically  constructed,  if  too  evidently  artificial  to  be 
pleasing  according  to  a  true  standard  of  judgment. 

More  satisfactory  arc  the  straw  pictures  made  by  Indian 
women,  who  essay,  with  success,  to  reproduce  in  colors 
such  subjects  as  the  cathedral,  a  street  scene,  or  a  land- 
scape. The  perspective  of  these  is  often  perfect,  and  the 
eflect  of  distance  is  sometimes  wonderfully  reproduced. 


V. 

The  rule  of  ancient  priestcraft,  whose 

>ns  the    ^,_^ 
Idols. 


A  siroii  amon;:  the  j^^gp^tis,,,  ^^.^^  ^rucl,  malignant,  and  des 


peratcly  ingenious,  is  powerfully  exhibited 
in  the  idols  that  have  survived  the  change  of  creed  and  the 
fortunes  of  the  years.  A  great  variety  of  these  appear  in 
the  national  museum,  hideous  but  interesting,  and  most  of 
the  little  idols  sold  in  the  shops  are  of  modern  construc- 
tion—gods made  useful  in  keeping  the  wolf  away.  The 
Aztecs  had  thirteen  great  gods,  with  little  gods  innumera- 
ble, and  naturally  enough  the  ruler  of  storms  and  the  mas- 
ter of  paradise  had  his  earthly  residence  on  old  Popocata- 
pctl.  There  is  supreme  art  displayed  in  the  chief  of  these 
graven  images — supposed  to  be  lluitzllopochtli,  the  god  of 
war,  though  the  question  has  long  been  debated  whether 
this  be  not  Teoyaomiqui,  the  goddess  of  death,  but  the 
character  of  the  idol  seems  to  decide  clearly  in  favor  of  his 
being  a  male  personage. 

The  art  embodied  here  is  that  which  commands  fear 
from  the  beholder — and  a  great  deal  of  strong  character 
went  into  the  making  of  this  idol.  These  early  impres- 
sionists knew  what  they  were  about.  The  unresponsive, 
cold,  btcrn  creation  is  formless — neither  man,  beast,  nor 
bird — carved  here  and  there  into  a  semblance  of  liead, 


154  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

hands,  and  feet,  with  now  a  dreadful  eye  and  then  a  gigan^ 
tic  claw  ;  the  suggestion  or  mere  hint  of  devilish  form 
everywhere,  but  none  of  these  intimations  of  life  come  to 
anything.  The  beholder  is  bafBed,  oppressed  with  the 
sense  of  many  possibilities  and  the  realization  of  nothing. 
Put  one  back  to  a  period  when  the  idea  of  a  supreme  being 
took  shape  like  this  and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  dread  and 
lively  fear  might  fill  the  breast  before  a  creation  so  inde- 
finably commanding.  "  Believe  or  be  damned  "  was  the 
watchword  of  heathendom,  as  thus  represented,  the  im- 
pelling motive  that  offered  countless  human  lives  and  tore 
out  the  palpitating  heart  of  the  sacrificial  victims  to  propi- 
tiate an  offended  deity. 

This  very  image  might  have  been  perpetually  drunk  on 
human  blood — if  the  shedding  of  it  would  suffice.  Bernal 
Diaz,  comrade  of  Cortez,  saw  this  idol  when  Montezuma 
exhibited  his  city  to  the  man  who  was  to  conquer  it. 
"Writes  Diaz : 

"Here  were  two  altars  highly  adorned  with  richly-wrought  timbers 
on  the  roof,  and  over  the  altars  gigantic  figures  representing  very  fat 
men.  The  one  on  the  right  was  Huitzilopochtli,  their  war-god,  with 
a  great  face  and  terrible  eyes.  The  figure  was  entirely  covered  with 
gold  and  jewels,  and  his  body  bound  with  golden  serpents ;  in  his 
right  hand  he  held  a  bow  and  in  his  left  a  bundle  of  arrows.  The 
great  idol  had  round  his  neck  figures  of  human  heads  and  hearts 
made  of  pure  gold  and  silver,  ornamented  with  precious  stones  of  a 
blue  color.  Before  the  idol  was  a  pan  of  incense,  with  three  hearts 
of  human  victims,  which  were  then  burning,  mixed  with  copal.  The 
whole  of  the  apartment,  both  walls  and  floor,  was  stained  with  hu- 
man blood." 

This  ancient  description  does  not  quite  tally  with  our  al- 
leged war-god,  who  was  found  buried  in  the  great  square 
in  1V90 ;  but  perhaps  Diaz  did  not  spend  much  time  in 
such  a  grewsomc  place.    The  war-god  was  buried  again  by 


"THE  ITALY  OF  AMERICA."  155 

the  Spaniards,  who  feared  lest  the  Indians  might  baclvslide 
from  their  new  picture-worship;  but  in  1821  Iluitzilo- 
pochtli  was  taken  up  for  good. 

Here,  if  anywhere,  one  can  realize  how  despicable  is  the 
religion  of  fear,  and  by  the  side  of  this  dead  emblem  of 
a  dreadful  past,  and  through  the  most  natural  association 
of  ideas,  one  seemed  to  see  Mark  Hopkins  twirling  about 
on  his  classroom  chair — benignant,  clear,  and  masterful — 
expounding  the  new  dispensation  of  "the  Law  of  Love, 
and  Love  as  a  Law."  Tenderness,  affection,  responsive 
human  interest — the  sunlight  of  intelligent  action,  of  choice 
— and  the  dead  shall  live  again  !  The  new  faith  is  better 
adapted  to  human  needs. 

VL 

It  will  surprise  those  Avho  are  familiar 
*l^.'""!   ^  ^'7  an     ^.j|.jj   Mexico's   notable   contributions  to 

A\  ood-carvins. 

ceramic  art  to  learn  that  this  industry  is 
entirely  unorganized,  each  Indian  hut  producing  its  own 
wares.  The  pottery  comes  chiefly  from  Guadalajara,  Urua- 
pan,  and  Zintzuntlan  ;  in  the  first-named  city,  which  is  on 
a  projected  branch  of  the  Mexican  Central  Ilaih'oad,  and  in 
cuminercial  importance  is  second  only  to  the  national  capi- 
tal, the  beautiful  glazed  ware  is  made.  This  is  ornamented 
in  variegated  colors  that  are  as  deftly  applied  as  in  any 
Japanese  work. 

Some  of  the  mammoth  vases  are  not  only  beautiful,  but 
embody  the  local  color  in  striking  combinations.  The  na- 
tional emblems  of  red,  green,  and  white  arc  draped  about 
the  golden  eagle,  with  guns  and  drums  as  accessories,  amid 
a  bewildering  but  pleasing  splendor  of  gold,  deep  blue,  and 
yellow  ;  the  whole  being  harmonious  and  admirably  char- 
acteristic.    Then  again  flowers,  deep-red  roses,  drawn  and 


15G  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

colored  to  perfection,  are  set  against  the  deep-brown  back- 
ground for  the  neck  of  the  vase,  while  its  body  will  be 
covered  with  an  Oriental  sea-view  wherein  red-sailed  ships 
float  on  a  silver  sea;  the  combinations  are  endless,  but 
they  are  always  highly  decorative  and  artistic. 

The  real  antique  Aztec  pottery,  age-dimmed,  and  of  fan- 
tastic shapes,  is  very  scarce,  though  these  clever  Indians 
make  an  imitation  that  usually  satisfies  the  tourist.  It  should 
be  said  that  this  ware  possesses  very  small  artistic  merit. 

The  gayly-colored  palm-leaf  baskets  are  not  unlike  the 
handiwork  of  Indians  nearer  home,  though  the  colors  are 
richer,  as  this  country  abounds  in  dye-woods. 

Choice  embroidery,  too,  can  be  bought  now  and  then, 
and  the  old  needle-work  is  equal  to  any  taught  in  the 
modern  schools. 

The  independent  Indian  manufacturer  of  pottery  packs 
his  goods  into  a  wicker  crate  about  two  feet  square  and  six 
feet  long,  lifts  this  to  his  back,  and  departs  on  foot  to  sell 
his  wares.  He  will  often  travel  hundreds  of  miles  and  re- 
turn happy  in  the  proceeds  of,  say  $15.  Decorated  water- 
coolers  and  bottles  are  included  in  his  stock.  The  makers 
of  clay  images  are  entitled  to  much  respect  for  artistic 
skill.  It  is  said  that,  after  a  mere  glance  at  a  person,  or 
even  at  a  photograph,  these  born  artists  will  make  a  bust 
which  will  be  very  lifelike  in  both  form  and  feature. 
•  Mexico  possesses  a  wealth  of  native  woods  that  is  now 
almost  wholly  neglected.  The  Indians  manufacture  artistic 
table-tops  that  are  a  striking  mosaic  exhibit  of  these  woods, 
but  the  furniture  used  in  the  cities  is  imported,  and  conse- 
quently commands  most  exorbitant  prices.  "Wood-carving 
is  indigenous,  and  some  of  the  Indians  deserve  to  be  called 
artists. 

Carlos  Zaremba  describes  one  such  in  the  city  of  Cucr- 


"THE  ITALY  OF  AMERICA."  157 

navaca,  workingr  iu  a  small  room  with  iraplomcnts  of  his 
own  make,  and  "carving  a  crucifix  in  wood,  so  highly  ar- 
tistic, with  the  expression  of  suffering  on  our  Saviour's 
face  so  realistic,  that  any  foreign  sculptor  of  the  highest 
renown  would  be  proud  to  call  it  a  creation  of  his  own." 
The  man  who  will  organize  this  native  facility,  carve  the 
abundant  mahogany,  rosewood,  and  ebony,  and  manufacture 
the  results  into  furniture,  would  seem  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity for  making  money  and  at  the  same  time  rendering 
the  world  a  service. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

A    RUN    INTO    THE    HOT    COUNTRY. 


I. 

Like  a  poultice  for  the  tired  nerves  is 

if  the 

n   1 

Climate. 


Limitations  of  tlie  i  •    j.     xi      t     i.  i.  j_- 

a  plunge  into  the  hot  country — ticrra  ca- 


liente — from  tLis  city  that  is  thousands 
of  feet  higher  than  Mount  Washington.  One  does  not  ffet 
adapted  to  new  conditions  at  once,  but  in  Mexico  the  driving 
Yankee  has  reached  a  country  where  haste  is  phenomenal. 
If  one  be  pliable,  and  owns  to  a  somewhat  lazy  nature,  he 
speedily  accepts  a  delightful  sense  of  somehow  being  a 
prodigal  who  has  reached  home  at  last.  But  whether  will- 
ingly or  otherwise,  every  visitor  will  be  made  to  under- 
stand that  nature  is  bound  to  rebuke  Northern  ways, 

lie  may  pitch  into  sight-seeing,  and  labor  to  pack  his 
all  too  brief  days  full  of  new  thoughts  and  experiences; 
but  the  reactions  are  quick  and  sharp,  and  the  over-ener- 
getic person  pays  the  penalty  of  his  imprudence.  Nature 
is  prodigal  of  her  charms,  but  she  is  more  ready  as  well 
with  her  penalties.  The  altitude  is  an  intoxicant,  and 
must  be  recognized  as  such.  More  sleep  is  necessary  than 
with  you,  and  a  wise  conservatism  of  labor  yields  more 
even  and  larger  returns  than  come  from  that  haste  which 
wantonly  wastes  the  vitality.  All  this  is  learned  by  expe- 
rience, and  hence  the  first  glimpses  of  the  capital  may  well 
be  followed  by  idle  repose  down  in  the  tropical  regions. 
To  "loaf  and  invite  one's  soul"  under  a  coffee-tree,  with 


A  RUN  INTO  THE  HOT  COUNTRY.  159 

the  snowy  summit  of  Popocatapctl  picrcinj::^  far  np  into  the 
everlasting  blue,  only  a  little  way  off,  n\akc3  an  episode  fit 
to  color  a  lifetime. 

II. 

Mexican  clianicter  may  be  stndicd  to 

Native  Character  Illu-      ■<         .  ii       t    1.  •     t>   -i         > 

niiuateJ  advantage  on  tue  Interoceanic  Ivailroad, 

over  which  we  will  pass  a  day's  journey 

down  into  the  state  of  Morelos.    It  was  bnilt  and  is  owned 

and  controlled  by  natives.     They  operate  it  on  the  mafiana 

princi[)lc  of  going  slow. 

Interesting  preliminaries  have  prefaced  the  departure, 
for  the  local  journalist  who  conducts  this  expedition  has 
secured  the  distinguished  consideration  of  a  free  passage. 
The  methods  by  which  this  has  been  accomplished  are 
those  that  belong  to  the  Latin  peoples.  A  letter  was  sent 
to  the  manager  of  the  road,  which  scrupulously  bestowed 
on  him  every  title  to  which  lie  could  possibly  lay  claim, 
expressed  the  ardent  hope  that  he  was  enjoying  the  best 
of  health,  enlarged  the  same  wish  to  cover  the  family,  and 
by  gradual  approaches  of  the  most  complimentary  nature 
reached  the  fact  of  an  American  visitor,  and  the  request 
for  "  the  usual  courtesies."  They  came  in  the  form  of  a 
written  letter,  which  secured  every  possible  attention  from 
the  conductors,  and  nothing  probably  could  induce  this 
gentlemanly  manager  to  commit  the  discourtesy  of  issuin<^ 
a  printed  pass. 

The  horse-cars  that  run  from  the  central  square  of  the 
city  to  the  depot  are  pretty  well  filled,  nearly  a  dozen 
American  tourists  being  among  the  passengers.  Some 
such  display  freshness  by  wondering  whether  they  will 
reach  the  depot  by  eight  o'clock,  the  time  at  which  the 
train  is  advertised  to  start.  As  ample  leeway  is  always 
allowed  for  the  belated,  one  can  observe  things  at  leisura 


160  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  good-natured  peons  who  handle  the  freight  that  mates 
up  the  larger  share  of  our  load  work  with  a  pleasant  list- 
lessness  that  would  infuriate  a  New  England  railroad  man. 
It  is  evident,  too,  that  their  honesty  is  a  matter  of  oversight. 
One  bearded  peon,  whose  noble  head  would  pass  current  in 
any  circle  as  stamped  with  intellect  and  sanctity,  proves 
that  things  are  seldom  what  they  seem.  lie  edges  cau- 
tiously but  steadily  to  the  rear,  keeping  a  sharp  eye  the 
while  on  the  boss.  Now  and  then,  when  hooking  over  a 
baof  of  freight,  he  rips  the  sacking  so  as  to  abstract  some 
of  the  contents,  which  he  deftly  conceals  in  the  bosom  of 
a  shirt  that  is  amply  protected  by  a  voluminous  scrape. 
Even  when  knowing  to  the  facts  it  is  difficult  to  acknowl- 
edge the  thief  behind  the  saintly  front  of  this  imposing 
pilferer,  and  the  man  who  would  charge  him  with  stealing 
must  needs  have  a  high  article  of  moral  courage. 

III. 
There  is  nothing  luxurious  about  the 

Mountain  Views  and  ^-^^^^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^.^   ^^^^^  ^  ^^^^.^ 

Suggestions.  .       . 

ago  in  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  have  since 
cracked  and  faded  under  the  fervid  sun.  The  wooden 
seats  of  the  first  and  second-class  compartments  of  the 
same  car  are  alike  in  hardness,  the  division  simply  allowing 
a  choice  of  company;  but  the  scenic  compensations  of  the 
way  are  lavish  to  wantonness. 

We  pass  out  by  the  lakes  along  the  old  roadway  that 
Cortez  and  his  Spanish  troops  traversed,  that  was  worn  by 
the  huge  mule  trains  which  carried  across  country  the  rich 
Eastern  cargoes  of  the  old  galleons,  and  is  still  crowded 
with  troops  of  loaded  mules  and  donkeys.  The  narrow- 
gauge  railroad  passes  through  the  mountain  barriers  that 
encircle  the  valley  of  Mexico,  and  then  our  course  is  south- 


A  RUN   INTO  THE  HOT  COUNTRY.  161 

west,  or  towards  tlic  proposed  terminus  of  Acnpuloo,  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  No  railroad  ride  in  tlie  United  States,  of 
course,  equals  this  in  the  variety  of  climate  and  vetjctation 
displayed,  but  it  is  also  true  that  none  opens  grander  out- 
looks of  mountains,  more  varied  combinations  of  lordly 
heights  and  fertile  depths,  vaster  stretches  of  lowland — and 
yet  no  part  of  Mexico  seems  more  like  home.  These  lesser 
mountains  are  familiar.  Here  arc  the  higli  regions  of 
Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  intensified  and  produced  on 
a  grander  scale.  But  the  two  snow-clad  volcanoes — Popo- 
catapetl  and  the  "Woman  in  ^Vhitc — awe  with  a  sublimity 
that  finds  no  equal  cast  of  your  Pacific  coast,  and  no  coun- 
terpart there.  They  arc  the  landmarks  about  whose  bases 
the  railroad  appears  to  crawl  on  its  studiously  circuitous 
way.  Their  stern  domination  is  increased  by  the  intense 
whiteness  of  their  summits,  as  seen  in  this  high  latitude. 

Towns  are  scattered  through  this  region  of  the  highland, 
their  chief  attraction  alwavs  being  the  church  that  crowns 
a  hill.  Now  and  then  a  valley  extends  away  below  the 
foot-hills,  with  fields  of  corn  and  grain.  Then  trees  hide 
the  brown  sides  of  the  mountains,  and  pines  appear  in 
abundance.  Occasionally  the  canons  arc  eroded  as  in  the 
bad  lands  seen  on  the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 
The  morning  air  had  been  brisk  and  bracing,  like  a  Sep- 
tember day  in  New  England,  but  at  high  noon  we  are  still 
winding  in  and  out  among  the  foot-hills,  and  the  tempera- 
ture differs  little  from  that  of  the  city. 

IV. 

After  a  leisurely  wait   fur  dinner  the 
rianplDg  into  the    .     •  ,  %        •  i     ^i      i    •    i 

Tropica.  train  pushes  on  a  few  hours  to  the  brink 

of  the  hills  whence  wc  shall  plunge  down 

into  the  tropics.     No  other  word  will  express  the  abrupt- 


102  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

ness  of  the  transition.  The  eye  sweeps  the  wide  rangje  of 
hills,  and  the  traveller  is  reminded  of  New  England ;  he 
confronts  the  green  valley  that  rolls  in  richness  as  far  as 
the  eye  can  see,  and  realizes  that  here  is  a  new  world.  The 
track  appears  like  a  great  summer  toboggan  slide  in  every- 
thing save  the  speed  which  it  imparts.  The  tender  green 
of  the  sugar-cane  marks  great  estates,  and  testifies  to  the 
chief  production  of  the  region.  Blue,  pink,  and  purple- 
streaked  morning-glories  are  made  mad  by  this  more 
than  July  heat,  and  they  clamber  wildly  over  the  stone 
walls  and  luxuriant  hedges.  A  yellow  flower  that  resem- 
bles your  ox-eye  daisy  in  everything  but  color  is  more  at 
home  along  this  track  than  it  ever  could  be  in  a  by-path 
of  Berkshire.  Unfamiliar  palms  tower  loftily,  orange-trees 
are  a  commonplace,  and  coffee  is  to  be  seen  as  nature 
makes  it.  The  houses  of  sun-dried  bricks,  with  their 
thatched  or  tiled  roofs,  have  lost  their  oddity,  and  any- 
thing else  would  be  out  of  place  ;  and  the  universal  cotton 
dress  and  straw  hat  belong  to  the  scene,  as  burdensome 
woollen  clothing  plainly  does  not.  Thus  we  a[)proach  the 
delightful  winter  resort  of  Cuautla  (Kwow-tlah). 


The  depot  is  housed  in  a  magnificent 
'^^''^^CuauJa?''""^  old  church  building,  whose  deserted  clois- 
ters are  profaned  by  freight  and  startled 
by  the  shriek  of  the  locomotive.  It  should  be  said,  by 
the  way,  that  on  this  Mexican-built  road  occurred  the  only 
railroad  accident  in  Mexico  that  has  involved  loss  of  life. 
In  1881,  when  the  line  was  first  opened,  a  washout  pre- 
cipitated some  two  hundred  soldiers  into  a  ravine,  the  cars 
loaded  with  lime  and  rum  caught  fire,  and  the  disaster  was 
frightful  enough  to  suffice  until  this  time.     The  one  ne- 


A  RUN  INTO  THE  HOT  COUNTRY.  163 

cessity  in  railroad  building  here  is  to  guard  against  the 
floods  of  the  rainy  seasons,  as  the  Mexican  Central  people 
have  been  forced  to  discover. 

Cuautla  is  a  neat,  thriving,  Avell-kcpt  town  of  about 
six  thousand  inhabitants,  whose  reliable  charm  is  a  model 
inn.  The  streets  are  well  laid  out  and  paved  in  cobble 
and  blocks  of  stone.  The  one-story  houses  of  the  Oriental 
style  are  wholesomely  kept  and  disclose  no  evidences  of 
extreme  poverty.  The  main  street  consists  of  shops  and 
houses  combined,  but  they  contain  no  show-windows,  and 
gliiss  is  conspicuous  by  its  rarity.  Thus  it  was  in  the  city 
of  Mexico  before  Paris  fashions  were  introduced  in  trade 
and  social  life.  The  work  done  here  seems  like  puttering 
to  an  American,  and  the  chief  native  manufacturing  indus- 
try is  cigarette-making.  Drug  stores  abound,  for  the  Mex- 
icans are  great  dosers,  and,  to  judge  by  the  placards,  they 
indulge  freely  in  American  patent  medicines. 

Strolling  down  towards  the  plaza — the  heat  permits  no 
rapid  movement — the  most  conspicuous  object  is  an  un- 
mistakable Yankee,  who  flits  in  and  out  of  house  after 
house.  The  spectacle  is  unique  enough  to  be  absurd.  Wc 
wait  and  waylay  this  one  live  man,  who  proves  to  be  a 
New  York  sewing-macliine  agent,  who  is  selling  his  stock 
on  the  instalment  plan  !  He  has  a  carload  of  goods  up  at 
the  depot,  and  is  doing  a  thriving  business.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  regard  him  with  the  approval  that  he  fairly  de- 
mands. 

The  plaza  is  a  sunny  abode  of  picturesque  idleness,  with 
a  music-stand,  fountain,  tropical  trees,  and  many  flowers. 
On  the  stone  benches  around  its  borders  peons  laze  to  and 
from  their  daily  tasks.  The  inevitable  cimrcli  and  munici- 
pal palace  confront  each  other  across  this  garden,  and  from 
the  balcony  of  his  ijiiarters  the  chief  oflicial  of  the  town 


164  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

looks  down  with  a  bored  air.  Brown-faced  soldiers  in 
white  uniforms  lounge  about  the  arcades  that  always  pro- 
ject from  these  government  buildings.  No  one  appears 
disturbed  or  curious  over  the  advent  of  strangers,  who 
make  themselves  quite  at  home  and  seem  to  fit  into  the 
placid  scene.  f 

VI.  j 

The    approach    of    sundown    brings  ' 

A  Model  Inu  aud  a  ,i  ^  i       p   i-  i  i    .•  -.i  i-:, 

Glorious  Si^ht      tliouguts  01  dinner  and  speculations  with  I 

regard  to  the  local  tavern,  whose  merits  ff^ 

have   been   freely  advertised   by  Mr.   Church,  the  artist.  r 

Hotel  de  San  Diego  fronts  on  a  small  and  neglected  park,  f 

a  long,  one-story  building.  It  is  built  around  the  usual 
patio,  or  courtyard,  and  into  the  surrounding  porch  open 
the  ample  guest-chambers.  Landlord  Victor  Bouyer  came 
over  with  the  French  army,  but  did  not  return  with  it.  He 
married  a  Mexican  wife,  and  has  since  been  growing  up 
with  the  country.  His  hotel-keeping  ability  equals  that  of 
Mr.  Plumb,  of  Stockbridge,  and  he  has  the  advantage  of 
possessing  a  better  house.  The  guest  enters  the  com- 
bined ofhce,  barroom,  billiard  and  reception  room,  that  is 
some  seventy-five  feet  long  by  forty  broad,  and  cooled  by  the 
stone  floor  and  walls.  Beyond  are  the  dining-rooms,  and 
then  the  ample  court.  Our  dinner  is  more  Continental 
than  Mexican — a  delicious  French  soup,  veal  boiled  with 
vegetables,  roast  beef,  a  delicate  salad,  frijoles  or  beans, 
sweetmeats,  cheese,  chocolate,  and  coffee — with  excellent 
wine  or  beer,  if  the  guest  shall  so  elect. 

To  smoke,  out  in  the  moonlit  court,  with  its  fountain, 
one  lordly  palm,  orange-trees  and  flowers,  seemed  bliss 
enough  ;  but  the  landlord  knew  better.  Submitting  to  his 
guidance  we  walk  out  into  the  night  and  leave  the  quiet 


A  RUN  INTO  THE   HOT   COUNTRY.  1G5 

town.  Passintj  ricli  estates,  over  whose  white  walls  the 
coffee-tree  bends  with  its  load  of  berries,  one  can  pluck 
the  green  branches  for  a  closer  examination.  Our  gnidc 
pauses  on  a  bridge  that  spans  the  stream  whose  waters, 
used  for  irrigation,  make  the  wealth  of  tlic  sugar  planta- 
tions. No  need  is  there  for  words.  Up  beyond  the  ravine, 
in  the  clear  moonlight,  whitc^  subdued,  in  glorious  relief, 
and  dignity  inexpressible,  tower  the  two  volcanic  sover- 
eigns of  tiic  continent. 

VII. 

The  nights  are  cool  enough  for  rcfresh- 

Tbc  Tropical  Winter  ■  ^  i    A^  ■  ri 

M..riiiii"  "'»  sleep,  and   the  morning   opens   like 

those  rare  June  days  that  bless  your  bleak 
liabitation,  and  vet  our  smilin;]:  landlord  says  that  this  is 
but  the  tame  repetition  of  all  days,  save  in  the  rainy  sea- 
son. One  wakes  because  nature  is  astir.  Out  in  the  court 
a  mocking-bird  jeers  at  all  the  feathered  creation,  and 
sweeter  songsters  carol  out  of  the  fulness  of  their  enthusi- 
asm. The  sun  floods  the  court,  and  pours  in  warm  and 
enticing  through  the  open  window  above  the  barred  door 
of  one's  chamber.  A  soft  breeze  is  abroad  that  has  passed 
over  fragrant  flowers. 

The  natives  begin  work  almost  with  the  sun,  and  the 
song  of  a  busy  cooper  near  at  hand  keeps  time  to  his 
rhythmic  taps.  For  an  hour  the  Indian  women  have  been 
sweeping  about  the  patio  with  a  noisy  rush  broom,  or  have 
occupied  themselves  about  the  preparations  for  that  light 
breakfast  of  eggs,  rolls,  and  coffee  that  is  both  I'arisian 
and  Mexican.  All  give  us  their  cheery  morning  greeting, 
these  true  Southrons,  whose  universal  courtesy  is  in  delight- 
ful contrast  to  Northern  frigidity.  The  breakfast-room  is 
cool,  fresh,  and  sweet;  open  to  the  air  and  the  court.     It 


166  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

is  a  day  begun  as  few  can  be  anywhere  in  tliis  world  of 
woe  and  work  and  tired  folk. 

VIII. 


Sugar- making  iu  a 
Convent, 


The  morning  is  devoted  to  visiting  tlie 


principal  sugar-mill  of  the  vicinage.  In 
the  yard  of  the  stately  old  church,  now 
desecrated  by  railroad  offices,  we  find  a  canvas-covered  car 
with  two  mules  attached  in  tandem  fashion,  and  a  smiling 
peon.  He  smokes,  and  a  cigar  coupled  with  the  suggestion 
that  we  would  like  to  ride  home  with  him  draws  out  a  most 
cordial  invitation  to  jump  aboard.  Soon  the  car  is  spin- 
ning up  a  narrow  spur  track,  the  mules  galloping  past  miles 
of  cane.  Men  are  busy  opening  the  irrigating  ditches,  and 
study  of  the  cane  makes  it  apparent  that  this  cannot  be 
the  season  for  making  sugar.  The  judgment  is  confirmed 
when  we  reach  the  mill. 

This  is  a  grand  estate,  with  a  noble  old  monastery  that 
is  now  equipped  as  the  centre  of  a  sugar  plantation.  Here 
is  an  independent  community,  the  walls  of  which  enclose 
some  six  acres,  and  cover  a  considerable  portion  of  this 
space  with  buildings  whose  masonry  will  defy  time.  The 
man  who  bid  in  this  property  when  the  liberal  government 
condemned  and  sold  it  got  a  prize — but  it  is  safe  to  pre- 
sume that  the  government  held  the  poor  end  of  the  bar- 
gain. It  always  did  in  such  transactions.  In  one  section 
of  the  great  yard  are  blacksmith  and  wheelwright  shops, 
and  the  sugar-making  machinery  invades  the  old  arched 
cloisters.  This  is  all  of  French  make,  and  the  manager  is 
of  that  nationality.  Now  he  employs  but  forty  men,  who 
are  engaged  in  shipping  the  cones  of  sweetness ;  but  in 
January,  the  busy  time,  four  hundred  hands  will  be  en- 
gaged in  turning  the  ripe  cane  into  the  finished  product. 


A   RUN    INTO   THE   HOT  COUNTRY.  167 

The  Church  set  these  endurincr  buildiiiirs  on  lii^fh  erronnd, 
and  the  spectacle  of  the  long,  green  fields  intersected  by 
the  sparkling  irrigating  ditches  is  worth  coming  to  sec. 
Great  bunches  of  golden  and  blue  flowers  skirt  the  green, 
and  trees  ablow  with  white  blossoms  are  a  conspicuous  ad- 
dition to  the  scene. 

The  silent  factory  does  not  detain  one  long,  and  when 
the  car  is  filled  with  sugar  we  crown  the  load,  the  amiable 
peon  swings  his  lash  about  the  ears  of  the  willing  mules, 
and  they  gallop  back  to  town.  There  a  little  toll  to  the 
charioteer  makes  him  a  lord  among  his  fellows. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Mexico's  paintings  and  statues. 

I. 

The  artistic  sense  as  found  in  the  In- 
The Indian  Leadership  ^j^^^^  j^  ^^  pleasino-,  essential,  and  uni- 

in  Higher  Art-  i  &'  j 

versal — just  as  naturally  a  tropical  blos- 
som as  the  mammoth  roses — that  one  approaches  the  cul- 
tivated arts  with  some  apprehension  lest  so  much  promise 
be  not  paralleled  in  the  higher  fields.  It  is  better  so,  for 
this  attitude  of  mind  prevents  any  disappointment,  and 
heightens  the  enjoyment  of  much  that  is  worthy  of  recog- 
nition here  or  anywhere. 

The  national  development  in  painting  is  very  consider- 
able, boasting  both  a  past  and  a  present.  The  future  ought 
to  be  still  better,  as  it  will  open  the  door  to  larger  oppor- 
tunities. As  the  fortunes  of  Mexico  improve,  the  market 
to  which  the  artists  can  appeal  will  no  doubt  be  increased; 
but  it  must  be  said  that  buyers  of  pictures  are  not  many 
as  yet.  The  pulque-shops  take  some  "  pot-boilers,"  but 
there  is  a  much  steadier  demand  in  Mexican  homes  for 
plate-glass  mirrors  than  for  canvas,  and  the  extent  to  which 
these  glasses  are  used  in  private  houses  must  make  them 
resemble  the  interior  of  a  Hudson  River  steamboat.  In  the 
government  pawn-shop,  by  the  way,  there  are  very  many 
mirrors  in  pledge,  of  broad  expanse  and  the  widest  gilt 
bordering,  while  the  paintings  are  comparatively  few  and 
of  a  cheap  and  tawdry  description. 


MEXICO'S   PAINTINGS  AND  STATUES.  109 

Tlic  artists  of  Mexico  were  represented  at  the  centennial 
exposition  at  riiiladelpliia,  at  tlic  Boston  exhibition  of  tho 
New  England  Mechanics  and  Manufacturers'  Institute  in 
1884,  and  also  very  generously  at  the  late  exhibition  in 
New  Orleans.  The  riiiladclphia  display  was  full  and  rep- 
resentative of  the  old  and  new,  giving  those  who  studied 
it  almost  as  good  an  idea  as  may  be  obtained  from  the 
national  school  of  fine  arts  in  this  city,  the  Academy  of  San 
Carlos. 

IL 

This  institution  is  housed  close  by  the 
The  Academy  or  Saaj^^^j^^,^,    j^j^^g^.^^^^      j^    ^.^^    ^^^^^^^^    .^ 

1781,  and,  through  a  gift  of  $40,000  from 
King  Charles  III.  of  Spain,  was  equipped  ten  years  later 
with  a  fine  collection  of  antique  casts.  Of  these  Humboldt 
wrote :  "  We  are  astonished  at  seeing  here  that  the  Apollo 
of  Belvedere,  the  group  of  Laocoon,  and  still  more  colossal 
statues  have  been  conveyed  througli  mountain  roads  at  least 
as  narrow  as  those  of  St.  Gothard."  The  first  and  second 
galleries  contain  the  paintings  of  Mexican  artists  of  the  old 
school,  specimens  of  the  European  schools  appear  in  the 
third  gallery,  and  the  fourth  and  fifth  rooms  are  devoted 
to  the  modern  painters  of  Mexico. 

One  naturally  seeks  first  the  pictures  that  have  crossed 
the  water,  both  from  their  intrinsic  interest  and  a  desire  to 
trace  the  influence  which  they  have  exerted  on  local  art. 
There  arc  some  great  paintings  in  this  academy.  The  "  St. 
J.jliii  of  God,"  by  Murillo,  is  a  replica  of  that  in  the  Hos- 
pital of  Charity  at  Seville.  Two  other  undoubted  Murillos 
are  claimed  by  Mexico — "The  Virgin  of  Bethlehem,"  in 
the  cathedral  here,  and  the  "  Burissima,"  in  the  cathedral 
of  Guadalajara.     Here  is  also  a  "Saint  Sebastian,"  attrib- 


170  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

uted  to  Van  Dyck;  a  large  "Descent  from  the  Cross,"  by 
Rubens,  is  perhaps  a  copy ;  there  is  a  "  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist," by  Ingres ;  three  paintings  are  credited  to  Leonardo 
da  Vinci;  there  are  two  pictures  by  Guido  Reni;  two  arc 
said  to  be  by  the  ekler  Teniers,  and  Charles  Vernet  contrib- 
uted "  The  Olympic  Games." 

The  Church  was  the  great  patron  of  art  in  all  the  early 
days,  and  she  has  been  since  despoiled  of  such  possessions 
in  many  ways.  The  American  invaders  carried  off  a  good 
many  paintings,  though  our  soldiers  were  probably  not  very 
intelligent  plunderers.  Many  of  the  so-claimed  old  masters 
that  turn  up  in  loan  collections  in  various  localities  have 
come  down  from  soldiers  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  are  gen- 
erally old  copies  of  great  paintings.  It  is  possible  that  an 
original  may  exist  among  them,  but  the  probabilities  arc 
the  other  way.  The  internal  revolutions  and  outside  in- 
vasions helped  to  scatter  the  belongings  of  the  churches, 
many  of  them  going  to  Europe,  and  the  liberal  confiscation 
completed  the  job. 


III. 

When  the  Church  was  the  chief  buyer 

of  Native  Painters. 


The  Creditable  Work  ..  , ,  -  ^i    j.  ^t 

it  appears  as  a  matter  of  course  that  the 


ancient  Mexican  masters  followed  Old 
World  models  in  treating  of  severely  religious  subjects — 
and  not  afar  off,  either.  The  most  meritorious  work  was 
done  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Some  of  the  subjects 
will  illustrate  the  drift  of  the  period:  "Apparition  of  the 
Holy  Virgin,"  by  Nicholas  Euriquez ;  "  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,"  by  Vazquez ;  "  Interior  of  the  Convent  of 
Bethlehemites,"  by  Carlos  de  Villalpandi;  and  "Holy  Spring- 
in  Guadaloupe,"  by  N.  Caballero,  The  early  school  was 
practically  bounded  by  church  and  convent  walls,  but  with- 


MEXICO'S  PAINTINGS  AND  STATUES.  I7i 

in  tlic  ranp:c  of  subjects  fitted  to  liani;  thereon  its  tenden- 
cy was  liiglily  decorative.  Luis  Juarez  revels  in  rich  ac- 
cessories. 

The  fourth  and  fifth  galleries  epitomize  the  present  of 
art,  and  it  is  apparent  that  the  strongest  men  of  the  period 
find  their  inspiration  at  home.  Some  of  these  specimens 
of  modern  \York  arc  genuine  and  strong,  impressive  and 
valuable  in  subject  and  treatment,  and  full  of  the  best  prom- 
ise. The  landscapes  of  Jose  Maria  Velasco  have  more 
than  a  local  reputation,  and  at  Philadelphia  he  was  **  com- 
mended for  merit  as  a  landscape  painter,  as  displayed  in 
liis  picture  entitled  'The  Valley  of  Mexico.'"  lie  is  a 
master  of  distance,  and  reproduces  with  wonderful  fidelity 
the  great  valley  as  it  lies  under  the  brilliant  sun. 

The  painting  most  praised  at  the  Boston  exhibition,  by 
the  way,  was  "The  Beggars,"  exhibited  by  A.  Vargas,  of 
Chihuahua,  who  thus  dealt  with  a  phase  of  life  that  is  om- 
nijjrcscnt  in  Mexico. 

"We  have  seen  enough  of  this  country  to  understand  that 
its  history  abounds  in  the  most  striking  situations,  and  the 
old  life  offers  a  mine  of  artistic  suggestions.  This  is  being 
worked  with  some  noble  results.  The  chief  ornament  of 
the  academy,  one  that  has  been  praised  in  extravagant  terms 
by  competent  art  critics,  is  the  painting  by  Felix  Parra,  en- 
titled "  Las  Casas  Protecting  the  Aztecs."  It  is  not  only 
a  most  worthy  monument  to  the  good  friar  of  Chiapas, 
famed  for  self-sacrificing  championship  of  his  oppressed 
people — the  fit  embalming  of  a  strong  and  just  character 
— but  the  painting  embodies  more  than  greatness  in  sen- 
timent, skill  in  drawing,  and  harmony  of  coloring.  It 
proves  beyond  peradvcnturc  that  the  universal  artistic 
sense  that  is  the  Indian  birthright  is  cai)able  of  the  higbest 
development,  and  that  it  finds  best  expression  in  dealing 


172  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

with  its  own  proud  ancestry.  The  same  young  Indian 
artist  has  produced  another  worthy  painting— more  ambi- 
tious in  subject,  and  less  effective  in  execution,  but  still 
(Treat  —  that  possesses  historical  interest.  This  is  the 
"Massacre  in  the  Temple." 

When  Cortez,  inflamed  by  the  misdirected  and  most 
costly  tributes  that  Montezuma  had  forwarded  to  meet  the 
Spaniard  and  turn  his  feet  back  to  the  coast  and  away 
from  the  Aztec  capital,  pushed  on  to  the  residence  of  the 
king,  and  there  heard  of  the  arrival  of  the  ships  and  troops 
sent  against  him  from  Cuba,  it  will  be  remembered  that 
he  personally  departed  to  meet  the  detachments  despatched 
by  Velasquez,  the  governor.  In  the  capital,  however,  he 
left  Alvarado  at  the  head  of  the  troops  that  remained. 
That  impetuous  person  professed  to  believe  that  the  Aztecs 
were  plotting  against  the  Spaniards,  and  therefore  he  di- 
rected the  troops  to  fall  upon  and  slay  the  assembled  native 
nobles,  their  wives  and  children.  This  ruthless  butchery  is 
now  depicted  on  canvas  with  power  and  feeling. 

The  scope  and  value  of  Parra's  work  justly  earned  him 
a  scholarship  from  the  local  academy,  and  he  has  been  given 
the  advantage  of  foreign  training.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  will  not  wean  him  from  the  individual  career  so  well 
begun  before  he  had  seen  any  country  but  his  own.  Other 
Indians  who  achieved  success  as  painters  were  Jose  and 
Luis  Juarez  and  Cabera — the  latter  bringing  in  a  new  pe- 
riod of  Mexican  art  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Ibarra,  Arteaga,  Juan  and  Nicholas  Rodriguez  were  painters 
of  excellence.  Indian  blood  certainly  predominates  among 
the  artists  of  Mexico.  Many  paintings  executed  during  the 
last  twenty  years  show  the  effect  of  French  teaching. 


uti^M-r^tr-r*.' 


LAS  CA8A8  I'KOTECTING   THE   AZTECS, 


MEXICO'S  PALNTIXCS  AND  STATUES.  175 


IV. 

Over  the  bones  of  Juarez,  president  and 
1*. 

Mouumcut  to  Juarez. 


The  Remarkable  ,  ti  ^i       -ia'     1  •      i  e  \t     •       m 

reformer,     the  Washington  of  Me.xico, 


as  lie  lias  been  frequently  termed,  is  a 
tomb  the  most  exacting  soul  might  envy.  As  a  work  of 
art  it  is  fine  indeed,  but  as  the  tribute  of  an  Indian  sculptor 
to  the  great  Indian  statesman  it  is  magnificently  impressive. 
Out  beyond  the  Alameda,  in  the  Pantcon  of  San  Fernando, 
is  the  resting-place  of  many  of  Mexico's  illustrious  dead, 
and  the  eternal  fitness  of  things  in  God's  acre  is  kept  when 
the  richest  tribute  that  sculpture  could  bring  rises  above 
the  grave  of  Juarez.  This  monument  is  the  work  of  Manuel 
Islas,  who  has  succeeded  in  the  most  difficult  of  all  fields. 
The  unvarying  testimony  of  those  who  visit  the  cemetery 
might  be  quoted  iu  proof  of  this  claim,  and  certainly  no 
monumental  effort  in  the  United  States  tells  such  a  story 
of  heroic  grief  or  so  immortalizes  the  dignified  emotion  of 
a  nation.  A  small  but  well-proportioned  Grecian  temple, 
surrounded  by  rows  of  columns,  contains  the  commemora- 
tive group  of  spotless  marble — the  dead  president  lying  at 
full  length  with  his  head  supported  on  the  knee  of  a  female 
figure  representing  Mexico.  It  is  the  most  simple  and 
natural  thing  in  the  world — after  it  is  done;  and  yet  the 
United  States  has  scarcely  a  memorial  of  dead  greatness 
that  does  not  seem  conventional,  heterogeneous,  and  strained 
beside  it,  scarcely  one  in  any  degree  so  good  in  its  technical 
qualities,  or  so  satisfying  as  a  work  of  art. 

This  Pantcon  is  a  walled  and  paved  city  of  the  dead, 
with  courts  and  arcades,  a  place  of  tombs  and  not  of  graves 
and  dreary  "  tombstones." 


176  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY, 

V. 

The  first  heroic  bronze  statue  cast  in 
America'sFirstBronze  America— that  of  Charles  IV.  that  adorns 

statue. 

the  west  end  of  this  city — has  not  been 
surpassed  since.  This  will  be  deemed  an  extravagant 
statement,  but  so  far  as  the  bronzes  that  are  exhibited  in 
the  chief  cities  of  the  United  States  enter  into  competition, 
it  seems  to  me  that  this  Mexican  work  easily  holds  its  own 
to-day.  It  was  made  in  the  days  of  the  viceroys.  The 
royal  deputy  who  was  in  power  in  1795,  the  Marquis  de 
Branciforte,  requested  the  privilege  of  setting  up  an  effigy 
of  his  sovereign,  and  the  boon  was  granted  on  the  last  day 
of  November.  The  opportunity  of  celebrating  a  not  very 
fine-looking  king  was  given  to  Don  Manuel  Tolsa,  who 
made  the  most  of  it,  and  the  casting  of  his  work  was  un- 
dertaken by  Don  Salvador  de  la  Vega.  Horse  and  mon- 
arch were  executed  in  a  single  piece,  about  thirty  tons  of 
metal  entering  into  their  composition,  and  the  result  came 
out  without  defect  August  4,  1802.  It  required  fourteen 
months  to  finish  the  work,  which  was  unveiled  December, 
1803,  on  the  Plaza  Mayor.  When  the  feeling  against 
Spain  ran  high  in  1822,  the  statue  was  boxed  up  to  hide  it 
from  the  wrath  of  the  people ;  two  years  later  it  was  taken 
down  and  placed  in  the  patio  of  the  university,  and  in  1852 
popular  sentiment  had  so  changed  that  the  statue  was 
reared  again  in  its  present  position  near  the  Alameda. 

The  horse  and  rider  are  fifteen  feet  nine  inches  high,  and 
belong  together.  Those  who  deem  the  effect  heavy  may 
base  their  criticism  on  the  great  breast  development  of  the 
animal,  which  is  a  noticeable  peculiarity  of  all  horses  in 
this  high  land — and  it  might  be  argued  that  the  Spanish 
king  did  not  ride  a  Mexican  horse ;  but  the  composition  is 


MEXICO'S  TAINTINGS  AND  STATUES.  177 

ndmirablc,  and  the  action  of  tlie  horse  is  to  the  life.  The 
king  is  in  classic  dress,  wearing  a  wreath  of  laurel,  and 
holding  in  his  right  hand  a  raised  sceptre,  and  the  horse  is 
at  a  slow  walk,  the  left  fore-foot  and  the  right  hind-foot 
being  raised.  The  whole  effect  is  natural  and  dignified, 
and  gives  the  ideal  of  kingly  progress.  The  solid  certainty 
of  the  whole  affair  is  the  furthest  possible  remove  from 
the  crazy  horsemanship  and  absurd  posturings  of  certain 
notorious  American  statues.  This  statue  deserves  to  rank 
with  the  tomb  of  Juarez  as  the  best  of  their  kind  that 
Mexico  can  show.  Humboldt,  by  the  way,  declared  that 
this  equestrian  statue  had  but  one  superior,  that  of  Marcus 
Aurelius, 

YI. 

The  bronze  sceptre  of  Charles  IV.  points 

A  Grand  Avenue  and    .      ,i  i.  i     1  ii  ,.  -c 

its  Memorials.  ^0  the  westward  along  the  most  magnifi- 
cent avenue  of  the  city,  the  Paseo  de  la 
Reforma,  that  ends  at  the  hill  and  castle  of  Chapultcpcc. 
It  represents  Maximilian  at  his  best,  and  is  the  enduring 
mark  that  he  has  left  on  the  face  of  an  inhospitable  city. 
There  is  much  to  admire  and  respect  in  the  character  of 
the  dead  "emperor,"  a  man  of  amiable  nature  whose  pur- 
poses comprehended  in  a  vain  dream  of  power  many  bene- 
fits for  Mexico.  He  held  the  French  idea  of  employing 
the  people  on  public  works.  To  him  wo  owe  the  impetus 
that  is  developing  the  new  part  of  the  city  on  higher 
ground  than  the  old.  Uc  laid  out  a  number  of  avenues 
hereabouts,  the  chief  of  which,  described  above,  is  about 
4000  yards  long,  with  a  width  of  170  feet.  Six  circular 
ppaccs  on  the  Paseo  do  la  Reforma,  each  400  feet  in 
diameter,  arc  set  apart  for  the  occupation  of  monuments 
to  eminent  men. 
1* 


178  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  first  is  filled  by  an  elaborate  tribute  to  Christopher 
Columbus  that  is  primarily  remarkable  as  having  been  reared 
at  the  expense  of  a  resident  of  the  city.  Such  a  conspicuous 
instance  of  public  spirit  is  notable  in  a  place  where  great 
wealth  is  accustomed  to  seek  seclusion  and  shrink  even 
from  the  hazards  of  legitimate  business  enterprises.  Don 
Antonio  Escandon  is  a  name  worth  remembering,  for  lio 
was  a  leading  spirit  in  procuring  the  construction  of  the 
Vera  Cruz  railway.  He  commissioned  the  French  sculptor, 
Cordier,  to  execute  this  monument,  which  is  much  com- 
mended, but  by  the  side  of  the  works  already  reviewed 
seems  too  elaborate  to  leave  the  one  direct  impression  of 
power.  Ilere  is  an  historical  puzzle  rather  than  a  great 
idea  simpl}'  expressed.  Still  the  work  is  artistically  good, 
if  puzzling  in  detail,  and  all-embracing  in  conception. 

Crowning  the  whole  is  the  heroic  figure  of  Columbus  in 
the  act  of  drawing  aside  the  veil  that  hides  the  New  World. 
Let  us  study  the  memorial  up  to  its  admirable  culmination. 
The  base  is  a  quinquangular  platform  of  basalt  surrounded 
by  an  ornamental  iron  balustrade  from  which  rise  five  gas- 
posts  with  branching  lanterns.  Above  the  centre  of  this 
base  rises  a  square  mass  of  red  marble  ornamented  with 
four  basso-rilievos — the  arms  of  Columbus,  surrounded 
with  garlands  of  laurels ;  the  rebuilding  of  the  Spanish 
monastery  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Eabida ;  the  discovery  of 
the  island  of  San  Salvador;  and  the  fragment  of  a  letter 
from  Columbus  to  Raphadi  Sauris,  Above  the  basso- 
rilievos,  surrounding  the  pedestals,  are  four  priestly,  life- 
size  figures — two  of  Spain  and  two  of  men  who  came  to 
America  —  Padre  Marchena,  guardian  of  the  monastery 
above  mentioned,  and  Padre  Fray  Diego  Dehesa,  confessor 
of  King  Ferdinand,  men  who  kept  Columbus  in  royal  favor; 
and  Fray  Pedro  de  Gante  and  Fray  Bartolome  de  Las  Casas 


V. 


r: 


B 


I»^ 


MEXICO'S  PAINTINGS  AND  STATUES.  181 

— the  latter  of  whom  painter  Parra  has  made  immortal — the 
two  missionaries  who  most  earnestly  befriended  the  Indians. 

In  the  second  space  of  the  lordly  avenue  the  foundation 
awaits  the  setting-up  of  a  completed  statue  of  Guatemotzin, 
the  last  of  the  Aztec  emperors,  a  man  of  far  more  strength 
of  character  than  his  uncle,  the  last  of  the  Montezumas. 
When  the  latter  proved  a  weak  tool  in  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniard,  Guatemotzin  rallied  the  Aztecs  and  fought  with 
desperation  until  overpowered.  AVhen  the  city  fell  tho 
emperor  sought  flight  in  tlic  royal  barge,  but  he  was  over- 
liauled  by  the  swifter  vessels  that  Cortcz  had  constructed. 
The  conqueror  received  Guatemotzin  on  the  terrace  of  a 
temple,  and  the  latter  said:  "I  have  done,  Malintzin,  that 
which  was  my  duty  in  defence  of  my  kingdom  and  my 
people ;  my  efforts  have  been  of  no  avail,  and  now,  being 
brought  by  force  to  you  a  prisoner,  draw  that  poniard  from 
your  belt  and  stab  me  to  the  heart."  lie  bared  his  breast 
for  the  thrust  Cortez  would  not  give.  The  latter  afterwards 
demanded  of  his  prisoner  to  know  where  the  imperial  treas- 
ures were  concealed,  and,  being  met  with  a  refusal,  the  feet 
of  the  emperor  were  soaked  in  oil  and  burned  over  a  slow 
fire.  A  companion,  the  cacique  of  Tezcoco,  who  was  sub- 
jected to  the  same  torture  nntil  he  died,  groaned  in  his 
extremity,  and  it  is  related  that  the  unhappy  emperor  re- 
proved him,  saying:  "Do  you  think  I  am  on  a  bed  of 
roses?"  Guatemotzin  survived  that  ordeal  to  be  hanged 
by  Cortez. 

The  third  monumental  space  on  the  avenue  will  be 
devoted  to  Cortez.  The  historical  sequence  of  tho  scries 
Is  most  striking.  First,  the  discoverer  of  America;  second, 
the  last  native  emperor;  third,  the  remorseless  conqueror — 
men  truly  representative,  widely  diverse  in  character,  the 
leaders  of  epochs ! 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SOME    FEATURES    OE    CITY  LIFE. 
I. 

The  Bohemian  who  could  not  spend 
A  Bobemian  Para-  ^^^^  pleasant  months  in  this  city  would 
not  be  much  of  a  "rustler."  That  ex- 
pressive word  has  been  coined  by  Western  ranchmen  to 
describe  cattle  who  can  be  relied  upon  to  care  for  them- 
selves under  all  circumstances.  They  will  "  rustle "  for 
feed  under  the  snow,  and  drift  before  a  storm  to  some 
natural  shelter,  when  less  enterprising  stock  would  give  up 
and  die.  Judging  by  much  that  is  written  about  Mexico, 
rustling  tourists  are  rather  the  exception. 

The  people  who  discover  that  life  here  is  totally  differ- 
ent from  the  Puritan  civilization  and  Yankee  ideas  of  com- 
fort argue  all  things  from  what  they  have  been  accustomed 
to.  The  march  of  improvement  to  them  means  the  intro- 
duction of  the  American  style  of  house  in  place  of  the 
stone  casa  built  about  a  court.  One  sees  a  disturbing 
number  of  such — positive  people,  without  sentiment  or 
imagination  or  intelligent  reasonableness,  who  are  doubly 
exasperating  because  they  never  harbor  a  suspicion  of  being 
absurd.  Even  missionaries  sometimes  seem  to  have  ex- 
pected to  find  here  the  virtues  that  bloom  along  the  Con- 
necticut River,  instead  of  the  Roman  Catholic  laxities  that 
mark  the  unprogressive  civilization  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
River.     It  is  the  Old  World  and  not  the  best  type  of  the 


SOME  FEATURES  OF  CITY  LIFE.  1S3 

New,  to  be  sure,  but  not  differing,  in  its  essential  condi- 
tions, from  nmch  that  may  be  seen  in  tlic  very  heart  of 
Europe. 

The  citizen  of  the  world  would  be  very  much  at  home 
here,  but  there  are  a  great  many  excellent  people  who 
could  not  be.  Many  such  have  come  and  gone  and  writ- 
ten down  their  doleful  experiences ;  others  are  now  hero, 
and  more  are  coming — a  melancholy  procession  of  mislits. 
The  intelligent  Mexican  accepts  these  mourners  with  a 
good  deal  of  patience,  but  who  shall  blame  him  for  look- 
ing on  them  as  the  plague  of  the  locusts,  an  uninvited  and 
unwelcome  clement  of  desolation  and  injury. 

II. 

There  is  a  charm  about  the  hotels,  an 
air  of  substantial  respectability  that  be- 
longs to  age,  and  has  no  affiliation  with 
those  gorgeous  establishments  in  American  cities  wherein 
the  "  stunning  "  clerk  is  autocrat  supreme.  The  venerable 
stone  walls,  that  arc  often  adorned  with  dingy  sculpture, 
have  settled  into  a  character  that  solicits  confidence  and  re- 
pose of  mind,  and  the  general  homelike  unobtrusiveness 
of  the  inn  soothes  the  restless  soul. 

The  time-worn  and  rather  shabby  old  party  who  pre- 
sides over  the  office  is  amiably  interested  in  you,  but  he 
never  becomes  aggressive,  and  his  attention  is  a  passing 
affair.  His  habit  of  mind  is  illustrated  by  the  reply  given 
to  the  agent  of  an  American  excursion  party,  who  applied 
for  quarters  at  the  hotel  kept  in  what  was  the  palace  of 
the  evanescent  Emperor  Iturbide.  "How  much  are  your 
rooms  a  day  ?"  asked  the  brisk  American.  "  Four  dollars," 
returned  the  clerk.  "  Lut  I  shall  bring  you  eighty  people," 
said  the  advance  agent,  with  confidence.     "  Eour  dollars 


An  Ei;;htecnthCcn- 
tury  Landlord. 


184  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

!\nd  a  lialf,  in  that  case,"  returned  the  serene  old  party  of 
the  second  part ;  "  that  makes  more  trouble  !" 

The  affectionate  interest  Avith  which  the  philosophic 
mind  must  regard  the  eighteenth-century  poise  of  a  land- 
lord who  argues  like  that  was  not  shared  by  the  wholesale 
applicant  for  rooms.  The  incident  only  intensified  his  re- 
lentless Americanism. 

But  wc  have  kept  our  old  hotel  clerk  waiting  quite  too 
long — not  that  he  minds  it,  for  he  has  not  turned  a  hair, 
and  is  counting  the  flies  that  come  and  go  in  an  unbusi- 
ness-like  but  truly  Mexican  fashion.  He  sees  the  traveller 
register  and  calmly  despatches  him,  by  the  hand  of  a  mozo, 
up  the  flight  of  stone  steps  to  where  the  guardian  of  the 
keys  and  letter-boxes  reduces  his  trust  by  one;  and  then  we 
toil  up  two  more  flights  of  stairs  to  a  fine  old  room  on  the 
topmost  of  the  circumscribing  galleries.  It  is  sunny  and 
cheerful,  and  opens  to  a  balcony  over  the  interior  court  that 
is  bridged  by  the  blue  sky.  The  view  is  pleasant,  offering 
beneath  a  summer-house,  tropical  vegetation,  and  a  fountain 
basin  that  is  covered  with  green  slime  and  suggests  malaria. 

Thereafter,  as  one  passes  in  and  out  of  the  hotel,  the 
custodian  of  the  key  will  smile  and  be  nnintclligibly  cour- 
teous in  Spanish ;  but  to  the  antique  clerk  below  the  guest 
became  an  established  fact  when  he  chalked  the  name  on 
a  blackboard  for  public  inspection. 

One  feels  like  a  marked  man.  The  government  agent 
has  taken  your  name  on  the  cars,  the  newspapers  have  an- 
nounced you  to  the  city,  and  the  local  servant  of  Cook's 
agency,  who  is  also  a  vender  of  bric-a-hrac,  has  sent  you 
a  cordial  invitation  to  make  his  store  your  headquarters. 
He  angles  Avell,  and,  in  the  enthusiasm  aroused  by  first 
glimpses  of  the  quaint  city,  the  inexperienced  traveller  is 
likely  to  make  purchases  that  arc  not  well  considered. 


SOME  FEATURES  OF  CITY   LIFE.  135 

But  before  leaving  llic  hotel  let  us  not  forget  one  of 
its  most  indispensable  features.  The  cliambennaiJs  arc 
mozos,  or  male  Indians.  Our  particular  mozo,  ever  hope- 
ful of  fees,  as  deft  and  knowinij  a  valet  as  ever  served  the 
most  pampered  scion  of  the  effete  monarchies,  is  quick  to 
establish  friendly  relations.  These  fellows  can  be  hired  in 
the  city  for  $3  .1  week  to  give  you  undivided  service,  and 
they  are  a  feature  of  Mexican  life  that  fit  like  a  glove  to 
the  necessities  of  a  lazy  man's  vacation. 

III. 
To  and  from  such  agreeable  hotel  sur- 

A  Toar  of  the  Res-  ^^  .        ^     .•      1   i-        A^n 

rounding — our  contract  stinu  atinir  810  a 
week  fur  room-rent — the  Bohemian  can 
move  to  ever-varying  fields  of  investigation.  Hotel  prices, 
by  the  way,  are  very  high  as  a  rule.  The  restaurants  first 
claim  attention,  and  they  will  delight  the  knowing  palate. 
Indeed,  they  merit  almost  unqualified  praise  for  number, 
variety  of  resources,  and  service.  French,  Italian,  German, 
Mexican,  and  even  American  cooking  may  be  obtained  for 
the  seeking — if  any  one  has  the  poor  taste  to  desire  the 
latter.  The  well-trained  waiters  everywhere  expect  the  fee 
of  a  medio.  If  one  desires  meat  for  breakfast  that  will  be 
an  extra  ami  a  difiicult  one  to  get;  and  the  most  inveter- 
ate  New-Englander  soon  learns  to  thrive  on  his  coffee,  roll, 
and  egg. 

Tourists  naturally  seek  to  combine  sight-seeing  with 
dining  by  sitting  at  the  street  window,  and  squeamish  peo- 
ple will  thus  suffer  a  disappointment.  The  Indian  beggar 
outside,  whose  deformity  is  his  capital,  and  who  never 
means  to  diminish  that  by  removing  any  dirt,  will,  ten 
chances  to  one,  press  his  nose  against  the  glass  and  eye 
your  meal  with  attention  that  must  prove  somewhat  revolt- 


186  MEXICO  OF   TO-DAY. 

ing  to  tlie  most  reliable  stomach,  lie  may  also  occasionally 
depopulate  his  head.  If  the  restaurant  discipline  prevents 
his  pressing  inside  ■with  personal  appeals  or  proffers  of  lot- 
tery-tickets, you  will  suffer  only  through  the  eyes.  The 
fruit-peddler  holds  an  invisible  free  pass  to  all  restaurants, 
and  if  one  desires  to  top  off  with  oranges,  bananas,  or  some 
of  Mexico's  unique  fruits,  he  buys  of  the  Indian  hawker. 

The  forager  in  the  restaurants  will  range  among  types 
of  character  that  enable  clever  students  of  human  nature  to 
sample  all  phases  of  male  society  in  a  cosmopolitan  city. 


IV. 

Every  town  has  its  great  market-place, 
,  uia 

and  New. 


usually  a  large  building  filled  with  Indian 


sellers — men,  women,  children,  and  babies 
— of  all  the  local  products  of  the  earth,  and  those  varieties 
of  merchandise  that  appeal  to  the  people.  Up  at  Toluca, 
for  example,  the  market  building  is  better  than  that  in  the 
capital  of  the  United  States,  besides  being  more  neatly  kept 
and  generally  more  attractive.  Between  the  ragged  and 
shiftless  negroes  of  Washington  and  the  Indians  of  Mexico, 
the  latter  make  the  best  appearance ;  their  wants  are  more 
simple,  and  the  artistic  sense  that  governs  their  costume 
gives  them  an  individual  standing.  When  they  begin  to 
adopt  cast-off  garments  of  European  style  some  critics  of 
Mexico  will  feel  better,  but  the  charm  of  a  picturesque 
civilization  will  be  broken. 

The  greatest  market  of  the  capital,  and  therefore  of  all 
Mexico  (there  are  several  others  in  the  city),  is  the  Vola- 
dor,  south  of  the  national  palace  that  occupies  one  side  of 
the  great  central  square  of  the  city.  It  covers  historic 
ground  that  once  lay  near  Montezuma's  "  new  home,"  and 
thereby  was  part  of  the  plunder  that  fell  to  the  share  of 


SOME   FEATURES  OF   CITV  LIFE.  187 

Cortez.  Thither,  by  decree  of  the  Aynntamicnto  in  1649, 
the  bakers,  fruit-sellers,  and  pork-dealers  were  ordered  from 
the  riaza  Mayor.  For  some  two  hundred  years  the  city 
paid  rent  for  the  use  of  this  market-place  to  the  lieirs  of 
Cortez,  but  in  1837  the  property  was  bought  for  $70,000. 
As  a  spectacle  the  market  will  be  found  a  very  fascinating 
place  in  itself,  and  because  the  utmost  of  historical  interest 
hangs  about  it.  Bcrnal  Diaz,  the  companion  of  Cortez, 
who  writes  so  graphically  of  ancient  Mexico,  assures  us 
that  the  market-place  of  the  original  city  did  not  greatly 
differ  from  what  we  see  to-dav — the  chief  change  being 
that  now  no  male  and  female  slaves  arc  on  sale.  The 
fruits  of  the  soil  and  the  results  of  individual  labor  have 
been  repeating  themselves  for  hundreds  of  years.  !Mon 
have  died,  but  others  do  the  same  things  from  generation 
to  generation. 

Ilere,  as  impressively  as  anywhere  in 

Indian  Character  D-  j^j^xico,  appears  the  tireless  and  mcchan- 
liistrated.  ... 

ical  iteration  that  marks  the  Indian  as  an 

unprogressive  human  animal,  and  shows  him  to  be,  in  lower 

life,  the  same  child  of  nature  as  the  uneducated  negro  of 

the  Southern  States  of  the  United  States.    The  Aztec  sold 

fowls,  game,  vegetables,  fruits,  articles  of  food  ready  dressed, 

bread,  honey,  and  sweet  pastry  when  Diaz  saw  him — and 

he  docs  the  same  to-day.     There  is  no  more  organization 

about  it  now  than  there  was  three  hundred  years  ago.    Each 

Indian  works  for  himself  and  sells  when  he  wants  money. 

Up  from  the  hot  country  he  passes  to  the  city,  traversing 

fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day,  with  a  back  load  of  chickens, 

baskets,  poultry,  wooden    bowls,  or   other   salable   stuff. 

Often  the  whole  family  make  the  trip  and  camp  out  on  the 

flags  of  the  Plaza  or  the  market-house,  guarding  little  piles 


183  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

of  fruits  or  vegetables — beans,  carrots,  lettuce,  tomatoes, 
peppers,  radishes,  beets,  potatoes,  or  squashes — until  the 
load  has  been  disposed  of. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  city  is  thus  dependent  on  the 
caprices  of  the  Indian  venders.  If  the  people  who  raise 
potatoes  or  carrots  do  not  happen  to  be  in  crying  need  of 
funds,  it  sometimes  happens  that  there  is  a  raging  scarcity 
of  those  or  other  articles.  There  is  no  thrift  or  forehand- 
edness  about  these  Indians,  and  the  half-dollar  more  or  less 
that  represents  the  sum  total  of  a  venture  of  this  kind  is 
squandered  with  reckless  rapidity.  The  prospector  of  min- 
ing days  wanted  few  provisions  and  mucli  whiskey,  and  the 
peon  adopts  the  same  thoughtless  and  wanton  policy — a 
little  cloth  and  much  pulque.  The  results  are  seen  even  in 
the  very  articles  he  barters.  The  stock  has  not  been  culti- 
vated, and  his  vegetables  are  often  withered  and  small  and 
"  run  out." 

A  first-class  market-garden  in  the  hot  country  would  be 
a  boon  to  this  city,  but  when  it  comes  the  peons  will  prob- 
ably assert  "  the  rights  of  labor"  against  such  a  wholesale 
aggression  of  greedy  capital,  and  they  are  not  likely  to  do 
it  any  more  brutally  than  have  the  strikers  of  countries  that 
boast  their  higher  civilization. 

VI. 

Rents,  Domestic  Econ-  ^/^^^^  studying  the  markets  it  is  natural 
omy,  and  the  Servant  to  investigate  somcwhat  the  perplexities 
Question.  ^^^  problems  of  domestic  life,  and  house- 

keeping is  discovered  to  be  both  difficult  and  expensive  for 
those  who  bring  to  it  the  standards  of  the  States. 

This  is  revealed  in  the  first  step.  Rents  are  high,  prices 
being  apparently  about  double  those  paid  in  New  England 
cities.     We  are  assured  that  this  is  one  result  of  the  com- 


SOME  FEATURES  OF  CITY  LIFE.  139 

\n^  of  the  railronds.  Ilonsc-owncrs  willinfjly  accepted  ex- 
tionic  representations  concerning  the  benefits  tliat  were  to 
follow  the  advent  of  the  iron  horse,  and  doubled  their  prices 
accordintijly.  The  result  is  a  good  many  vacant  houses,  but 
the  landlords  show  no  disposition  to  lower  rents ;  their 
property  is  untaxed  when  vacant,  and  they  wait.  This 
policy  results  in  an  indirect  benefit  by  driving  people  to 
cheap  and  conifortablc  quarters  in  the  suburbs,  where  life 
and  property  arc  safe  now  that  the  bandit  lias  become  a 
tradition.  The  selfishness  of  the  old-quarter  landlords,  too, 
will  assist  the  development  of  the  west  end,  where  improved 
dwellings  are  beinsx  built. 

The  servant  question  is  a  complicated  one,  though  not 
from  the  same  causes  that  operate  in  the  United  States. 
The  market  is  full  to  overflowing  with  "  help,"  such  as  it  is ; 
but  the  Yankee  housewife  does  not  tackle  to  it  kindl}-.  She 
can  never  find  a  n}aid-of-all-work.  The  lines  that  divide 
servants  are  as  stiff  and  ineradicable  as  those  that  exist 
among  the  stateliest  aristocracy. 

First  in  point  of  necessity  comes  the  porter.  He  is  the 
guardian  of  the  great  front  door,  keeps  the  patio  or  court 
in  order,  sweeps  out  the  saloon,  trims  the  lamps,  buys  your 
pulque,  acts  as  general  errand  boy,  and  waters  half  of  the 
street  in  front  of  the  casa.  lie  is  paid  $3  a  week  or  more, 
"  keeps"  himself,  and  sleeps  on  a  mat  laid  upon  the  stones 
under  the  stairway.  I*romptly  at  six  o'clock  he  closes  and 
locks  the  house,  puts  up  the  chains,  and  seems  to  sleep  with 
one  ear  open.  lie  is  always  good-natured  about  letting  you 
in,  however.  Some  families  permit  him  to  lodge  a  wife 
and  family  under  the  stairs. 

The  cook  is  the  autocrat  of  the  establishment  the  world 
over,  but  here  her  position  is  unquestioned.  She  is  paid  $1 
a  week,  with  an  allowance  of  12  cents  for  food,  and  bosses 


190  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

everybody.  The  servants  are  not  supposed  to  eat  food 
prepared  for  the  family,  and  they  prefer  native  fodder 
to  American  dishes.  Washing  is  an  extra,  done  at  public 
tanks  in  cold  water,  the  clothes  being  beaten  on  stones  and 
naturally  wearing  out  quickly.  It  is  not  good  form  for 
the  mistress  of  the  house  to  go  to  market,  and  the  cook 
buys  all  the  household  supplies.  This  gives  her  an  abun- 
dant opportunity  for  cheating,  which  she  improves  with  a 
dexterity  that  makes  detection  next  to  impossible.  One 
might  listen  to  her  bargains  and  yet  be  certain  that  she  had 
arranged  a  private  "  divy  "  with  the  huckster.  A  recent 
change  of  cooks  in  an  American  family  revealed  the  fact 
that  a  former  "  treasure  "  had  been  charging  exactly  double 
on  most  of  her  purchases,  and  she  is  now  living  on  her 
easily-earned  wealth.     All  cooking  is  done  over  charcoal  » 

fanned  to  a  glow.  The  Indian  cooks  heartily  despise  Amer- 
ican dishes,  but  learn  to  prepare  them  in  very  good  shape. 
Some  of  them  excel  with  training. 

The  bread  consumed  in  the  city  is  all  bought  at  the  . 

public  bakeshops  and  made  in  the  French  way.  Each 
day  opens  a  new  chapter  in  domestic  affairs,  only  provisions 
enough  being  bought  to  last  through,  so  that  at  night  the 
larder  is  as  bare  as  the  cupboard  of  Mother  Hubbard. 
There  is  no  "  trust "  in  Mexico,  and  the  head  of  the  house 
wbo  neglects  to  leave  a  pile  of  silver  dollars  with  his  wife 
produces  a  famine  in  short  order.  The  grocer,  meatman, 
charcoal-vender,  and  fruit-dealers  all  do  a  cash  business,  and 
no  money  no  food. 

A  few  rich  men  have  a  practical  monopoly  of  the  meat 
business.     The  beef  of  the  city  is  brought  from  Vera  Cruz  ' 

and  Guanajuato,  about  two  hundred  head  a  day  being  killed, 
cattle  being  worth  from  $24  to  $45  a  head.  Mutton  is  in 
universal  use,  and  is  better  than  the  beef.    Some  choice  car- 


SOME  FEATURES  OF  CITY  LIFE.  191 

loads  of  mutton  have  lately  been  shipped  through  from  New 
Mexico  at  a  good  profit.  One  rich  man  controls  the  pork 
market,  and  the  extent  of  his  monopoly  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  hires  seventy-five  telephones,  which  place  him  in  com- 
munication with  dealers  who  act  as  his  agents.  This  monop- 
olist also  makes  the  tallow-dips  that  are  in  universal  use 
among  the  poorer  people.  The  better  class  of  candles,  by 
the  way,  are  imported  from  France  and  Germany  ;  and  the 
enterprising  American  who  will  take  a  bright  Mexican 
partner  and  go  into  scientific  candle-making  ought  to  be  in 
the  way  of  making  money. 

There  are  no  good  fish  in  the  market ;  but  the  game  is 
excellent.  The  necessaries  of  life  arc  much  higher  than  in 
the  eastern  cities  of  the  United  States,  with  good  butter 
selling  at  $>!  a  pound,  milk  20  cents  a  quart,  tea  $2.50  a 
pound,  chocolate  50  cents,  lump  sugar  14  cents,  potatoes 
C-i-  cents  a  pound,  and  kerosene  87  cents  a  gallon.  An  en- 
terprising American  widow  and  her  daughter,  by  the  way, 
are  making  good  butter  and  selling  it  readily  at  a  generous 
profit. 

But  to  return  to  the  servant  question.  The  most  modest 
family  must  add  a  chambermaid  at  the  same  wages  and  al- 
lowance given  the  cook,  and  the  second  girl  can  be  per- 
suaded to  wait  on  the  table  ;  but  this  would  be  a  very  small 
allowance.  Each  child  of  the  better  families  has  its  own 
nurse,  there  is  a  maid  whose  only  work  is  dusting,  and  so 
on — until  the  grand  total  of  the  retinue  is  very  large. 
Servants  here  call  their  mistress  "the  child"  behind  her 
back — and  there  is  a  grim  appropriateness  in  the  designa- 
tion ;  but  to  her  face  she  is  always  "  the  scnorita,"  no  mat- 
ter how  ancient  may  be  her  days. 


CHAPTER  XVL 

THE    SOCIETY    OF    THE    CAPITAL. 
I. 

It  will  have  to  be  at  once  admitted  that 

A  stronghold  of  the    n        •   .     «  . i     .     i  i  .  ,.       •     i 

Church  Party.  society,    that  close,  almost  mystic  circle 

whose  claims  to  precedence  vary  with  lo- 
cality, but  are  always  rigidly  insisted  upon,  is  anti-Liberal, 
and  loyally  allied  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  This  is 
so  because  women  dominate  in  strictly  social  affairs,  and 
the  Church  keeps  its  hold  on  them  here  as  it  does  in  all 
Catholic  countries ;  and  true  also  because  "  society,"  which 
always  boasts  a  past  whether  it  has  one  or  not,  runs  back 
to  a  period  when  Romanism  was  the  cliief  power  in 
Mexico. 

The  "best  circles" — you  know  the  sounding  phrases 
used  to  denote  that  sort  of  thing  everywhere — are  appar- 
ently mainly  composed  of  those  who  lay  claim  to  the  titles 
of  nobility  that  existed  before  the  triumph  of  independence, 
now  fallen  into  disuse,  the  people  who  would  have  been 
counts,  marquises,  and  so  on,  had  the  old  order  of  things  re- 
tained its  hold  on  Mexico ;  the  Church  notables,  and  per- 
sons of  wealth  and  ancient  lineage  allied  to  Spain,  whose 
money  is  not  traceable  to  profitable  investments  in  Church 
property  at  the  time  of  the  liberal  sequestration. 

It  was  this  clement  in  the  population  of  Mexico  that 
welcomed  Maximilian  and  his  plans  for  a  brilliant  court 
with  ardor,  and  indeed  were  responsible  for  his  coming. 


TDE   SOCIETY   OF   THE   CATITAL.  193 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  they  argued  and  plotted  and  fought. 
Their  plans  were  captivatingly  plausible,  with  the  United 
States  divided  in  a  death-grapple  for  national  life,  and  the 
downfall  of  the  great  Northern  republic  predicted  on  every 
hand — it  seemed  possible,  aye  and  probable,  that  the 
United  States  would  be  split  in  twain.  "With  the  failure  of 
the  greatest  experiment  in  free  government  that  the  world 
had  seen,  why  might  not  Mexico,  long  in  travail,  be  im- 
perially governed  with  profit  to  the  people  and  glory  to 
the  old  noblesse,  and  take  her  place  with  some  show  of 
credit  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  sure  of  sympathy 
from,  and  close  alliance  with,  the  great  powers  of  Europe? 
This  was  no  fool's  enterprise  in  its  inception,  save  as  it 
left  unrecognized  that  mysterious  spirit  of  liberty  that  has 
had  more  grotesque  manifestations  here  than  in  any  other 
spot  on  the  globe.  A  people  unfitted  even  now  to  proper- 
ly exercise  the  intelligent  functions  of  a  free  government, 
have  yet  been  always  blindly  reaching  out  for  them.  Ucrc 
is  a  singular  yet  impressive  manifestation  of  the  universal 
law  of  evolution. 

II. 

"  Society  "  is  not  progressive  here  ;  it 
lU  NaturaJ  Diatory  ,     .      .^  ^j^^  ^^^^  ^^,^^     anvwhcre.      It 

and  Prejnuices.  •'       '  »       ^ 

staked  its  all  on  the  coming  of  Maximilian, 

and  lost.  It  witnessed  his  downfall  with  despair,  drew  its 
sympathies  and  associations  within  the  shell  of  its  own  con- 
ceit, and  followed  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  into  un- 
availing and  sullen  disapproval  of  the  new  order  of  things. 
Only  now  has  it  begun  to  accept  the  rude  inevitable  of 
liberalism  in  the  person  of  the  president  of  this  republic 
that  has  come  to  stay.  Don  Sebastian  Lerdo,  the  president 
whom  Diaz  bni'-hcd  aside  with  scant  civilitv.  was  allied  to 


194  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

the  old  order  of  things,  and  select  circles  opened  to  him 
considerably ;  but  an  inexorable  taboo  has  greeted  chief 
magistrates  since  his  day. 

The  old  social  leaders  of  Mexico  have  sat  amid  the  ashes 
of  their  discontent  longer  than  the  "chivalry"  of  the  South, 
and  are  more  implacable  to-day  than  the  vanished  slave- 
holdinix  aristocracy,  less  reconciled  to  the  new  order  of 
things  and  less  willing  to  accept  the  solemn  must-be  of 
progress.  It  is  from  this  class,  priests  and  citizens,  that 
the  undercurrent  of  opposition  to  railroads  find  its  chief 
stimulus.  The  schemes  of  Diaz  and  his  government  for 
popular  education  and  the  introduction  of  Northern  capital 
and  ways  meet  from  many  of  the  aristocracy  the  same  dis- 
countenancing arguments  that  used  to  be  advanced  by  the 
slave-holding  autocrats  of  the  United  States.  They  ex- 
hibit similar  fear  of  free  competition  and  an  untrammelled 
race  in  which  low  and  high  must  be  admitted  as  equals. 

Society  displays  an  undisguised  and  often  galling  con- 
tempt for  the  Liberal  powers  that  be,  the  men  at  the  front 
who  have  come  up  out  of  the  ranks  of  common  life,  emerg- 
ing through  revolutions  and  much  bloodshed.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  of  those  rich  absentee  landlords,  who  look  on 
Mexico  with  refined  disfavor  from  the  distance  of  Paris  or 
Madrid, 

The  Liberals  have  political  power  to  their  hearts'  content, 
but  when  they  aspire  to  social  recognition  they  must  enter 
by  a  straight  gate  and  may  not  climb  up  some  other  way. 
Gonzalez,  whose  personal  tastes  were  far  from  fine,  was 
satisfied  with  the  opportunities  opened  by  his  oflScial 
position,  and  dwelt  in  them  with  seeming  content.  Not 
so  with  Diaz,  but  even  the  president  of  the  republic  can 
command  social  standing  only  by  a  marital  alliance  with 
the  family  of  a  leader  of  the  Church  party,  a  Lerdlst,  and 


TUE   SOCIETY  OF   TUE   CAl'ITAL  195 

then  he  must  rise  by  curiously  imposed  stages  of  accept- 
ance. Diaz  is  not  quite  in  society  yet,  it  appears,  though 
he  is  in  a  fair  way  to  be. 

One  is  impressed  by  tliis  man  liere  as  in  the  other 
stages  of  his  career.  He  has  been  playing  a  large  game, 
he  handles  his  cards  with  immense  foresight,  and  is  ani- 
mated with  an  iron  determination  to  win.  Ambition  and 
patriotism  were  curiously  blended  in  his  composition.  The 
army  and  the  government  succumbed  to  his  advance,  and 
the  stronghold  of  an  aristocracy  that  is  intrcnohed  in  breast- 
works of  tenacious  if  petty  prejinliccs  yields  to  his  new 
methods  of  attack.  And  society  docs  well  to  accept  Diaz, 
the  man  on  horseback,  the  best  and  most  capable  friend, 
take  him  all  in  all,  that  Mexico  can  now  count  on.  He  has 
forced  conservatism  and  blood,  yes,  and  religious  opposi- 
tion, to  at  least  a  partial  capitulation. 

III. 

As  has  been  intimated,  the  cafes  and 
Society  at  the  Opera.  ^1       ^,      ^  ,  »  •      ,1 

the  theatre  occupy  a  large  place  in  the 

life  of  this  capital.  "With  a  Latin  population  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  phases  of  home-visiting  and  entertaining  arc,  of 
course,  not  reproduced,  but  family  feeling  is  very  strongly 
manifested.  But  we  will  ap[)roach  our  study  of  society 
from  the  outside,  and  by  sluw  advances. 

The  opera  is  an  advantageous  point  to  start  from.  There 
society  is  on  parade.  Yet  the  despotism  of  the  senses  first 
brings  to  the  attention  two  commonplace  facts — that  wo 
must  occupy  straight-backed  chairs,  and  that  fleas  attend 
the  opera.  The  men,  who  sit  with  their  hats  on  until  the 
curtain  rises,  are  divided  between  dress  and  Prince  Albert 
coats.  The  two  balconies  arc  devoted  to  boxes,  and  theso 
also  border  each  side  of  the  floor  of  the  house.  The  truly 
8 


196  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

brilliant  array  of  ladies  are  in  full  dress,  and  they  are  fairly 
dazzling  with  Southern  charms  and  that  elation  that  resides 
in  the  "  best  bib  and  tucker." 

As  the  drop  rises  all  pay  appreciative  attention  to  the 
Italian  opera ;  but  it  is  at  once  apparent  that  the  stranger 
Avithout  opera-glasses  is  but  half-equipped  for  the  evening. 
The  universal  interest  does  not  rivet  itself  on  the  singers. 
This  is  a  charming  beauty  show,  and  it  is  expected  that 
the  men  will  display  their  frank  appreciation  of  it.  To 
eye  tbose  caged  senoritas  for  five  minutes  on  a  stretch  is  to 
pay  a  well-merited  compliment,  one  that  is  openly  appre- 
ciated and  even  expected.  It  is  all  as  natural  and  genuine 
and  pleasing  as  yielding  to  that  impulse  of  delight  which 
fills  one  at  a  display  of  flowers — for  here  are  the  rarest  of 
exotics,  the  ardent  blooming  of  the  highest  form  of  life. 
Between  the  acts  the  men  behave  as  they  do  the  world 
over — break  for  the  lobby,  and  smoke  and  eat  cloves ;  but 
there  are  local  variations.  Those  fortunate  enoifgh  to  have 
favored  feminine  acquaintances  in  the  house  buy  dulce — 
sweetmeats — which  they  despatch  to  the  boxes.  There 
seems  to  be  a  limit  placed  now  on  the  national  habit  of 
smoking,  for  it  has  been  abolished  from  its  last  stronghold, 
the  pit.  Wlien  the  male  audience  files  back  the  men  stand 
and  level  their  glasses  at  the  boxes.  In  this  way  the  prize 
of  beauty  is  awarded,  and  joy  or  heart-burning  is  thereby 
created.  Happily  the  average  of  fascination  is  so  high  that 
few  are  omitted  in  this  informal  award.  The  girls  are 
keenly  alive  to  the  situation,  and  individual  flowers  in  the 
bouquet  of  a  box  nod  to  each  other  as  this,  that,  and  the 
other  man  pay  it  attention. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   THE   CAPITAL.  197 

IV. 

The  dccayincc  old  social  leaders,  by  tlio 

Social  DecAdcDce  and  1  \  r   11  •   i      1  j. 

Growth  "'''*.^'  "*^  "'^^^  fiilly  appreciate  how  great 

are  the  inroads  made  by  the  progression- 
ists, as  the  Liberals  are  most  often  called.  The  court  lan- 
guage was  French,  and  that  tongue  is  an  almost  universal 
possession  in  good  families,  but  young  Mexico  is  learning 
with  pride  to  speak  English  as  it  takes  up  American  ways 
and  Northern  ambitions. 

Like  some  aristocratic  streets  in  New  England  cities, 
where  "old  families"  brooded  in  select  seclusion  and  mu- 
tually agreeable  pride,  society  must  experience  a  disagree- 
able resentment  as  it  wakes  up  to  the  fact  that  the  tide  of 
affairs  has  left  the  once  powerful  stranded.  Here,  as  there, 
a  new  life  has  established  its  leadership,  and  there  must  be 
compromise,  a  readjustment  of  old  lines,  or  an  unhappy  and 
too-evident  decadence  will  have  to  be  endured.  More  Mex- 
ican officials  than  is  generally  known  have  married  Ameri- 
can wives,Washington  or  Baltimore  women,  bright  and  capa- 
ble helpmates. 

V. 

But  now  let  us  sec  society  in  another 

Sunday  Morninc  on         i  i-  .  •,  •      ji       c        i 

the  Alameda.  Public  aspect,  as  It  appears  m.tlie  Simday 
morning  promenade  on  the  Alameda,  or 
Boston  Common  of  the  city.  Three  bands  discourse  de- 
lightful music  from  ten  to  twelve  o'clock.  These  organiza- 
tions never  appear  with  less  than  forty  members,  who  dis- 
pense with  the  harsher  instruments.  They  play  standard 
music,  such  as  would  delight  Theodore  Thomas.  Some  of 
this  music  is  native,  and  apparently  unwritten.  They  never 
offend  with  the  light,  passing  operas,  and  they  execute  the 
most  difficult  scores  with  the  native  fidelity  of  apprehension 


198  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

that  marks  the  true  musician.  The  programme  opens  with 
a  march,  and  "  the  best  people "  are  not  expected  before 
eleven  o'clock,  when  they  come  on  foot,  the  supposition 
being  that  they  have  just  been  released  from  church. 

The  decorum  of  the  promenade  is  absolute,  for  the  high- 
breeding  of  Spain  has  ordained  the  laws  of  social  usages. 
Nought  of  the  boisterous  freedom  of  American  city  life 
mars  the  polite  repose  of  the  occasion.  The  senoritas  walk 
with  their  brothers,  their  mothers,  and  fathers,  and  not  with 
"a  fellow."  lie  is  shorn  of  his  confidence — one  had 
almost  said  of  his  impudence — and  is  merely  an  envious 
and  deferential  spectactor.  The  gilded  youth  of  the  town 
line  the  mall  like  lizards  in  the  sun,  each  with  his  black 
hat,  frock-coat,  tall  collar,  bright  cravat,  and  tight,  patent- 
leather  shoes,  as  discontented  as  the  urchin  who  only  gets 
bis  chin  over  the  high  wall  of  a  peach-orchard.  The  beau- 
ties stand  the  test  of  this  clear  morning  light  marvellously 
well,  and  appear  to  the  best  advantage  in  black  dresses  and 
mantilla  that  falls  from  the  raven  head  over  the  shoulders 
and  meets  under  the  chin  to  frame  bewitchino-  faces.  The 
young  men  may  look  to  their  hearts'  content,  and  there  is 
abundant  flirting  with  the  eyes,  but  that  is  all ;  the  senorita 
would  never  think  of  giving  a  backward  glance,  and  whist- 
ling or  aheming  is  recognized  for  the  rude  offence  that  it 
always  should  be.  At  high  noon  the  people  betake  them- 
selves to  breakfast,  and  so  society  disappears  from  the 
public  gaze  until  five  o'clock. 

VI. 

A  Solemn  and  stately  ^his  brings  US  to  what  is  a  unique 
Airing  on  the  Grand  daily  performance,  the  congregation  of 
^^^^°-  the  wealth  and  fashion  of  the  city  on  tlie 

Paseo  de  la  Reforma,  the  grand  avenue  of  the  capital.     A 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  THE  CAPITAL.  199 

carriage  is  obviously  one  of  the  necessities  of  social  stand- 
ing, and  a  requisite  that  is  said  to  beget  much  economizing 
in  families  of  moderate  means.  Such  will  scrimp  in  all 
directions  save  this,  down  to  the  very  necessities  of  life. 
But  outsiders  can  charter  a  hack,  and  that  will  do  just  as 
well  for  a  passing  share  in  this  panorama.  According  to 
the  popular  agreement  we  are  out  for  a  drive,  and  yet  from 
force  of  association  one  quickly  fancies  himself  part  of 
some  great  funeral  procession,  and  the  spirits  instinctively 
fall  to  a  solemnity  befitting  such  an  occasion.  The  car- 
riages are  reined  into  a  long  line,  and  move  along  one  side 
of  the  avenue  and  then  back  on  the  other  side,  the  centre 
of  the  drive  being  reserved  for  equestrians.  Bergh  never 
would  find  cause  to  interfere  here,  unless  he  should  think 
that  the  members  of  the  jockey  club  on  horseback  cantered 
too  briskly.  Down  and  back  for  an  hour  roll  the  carriages 
at  slow  pace,  most  of  them  being  closed,  to  show  that  the 
occupants  are  out  for  an  airing. 

One  can  see  little  and  enjoy  not  much  beyond  the  con- 
sciousness that  this  is  "  the  proper  thing."  The  young 
men  cut  in  now  and  then  next  a  carriage  which  carries 
lovely  freight,  and  why  not  we  ?  That  is  a  little  better,  but 
not  much.  An  occasional  tricycle  is  met,  adding  an  incon- 
gruity to  an  old  custom  that  two  or  three  bicycles  enhance. 
Now  and  then,  too,  a  brisk  horseman,  flashing  in  the  pleas- 
ing native  dress,  gallops  past  with  a  free  and  rakish  life 
that  puts  ridicule  on  the  carriage  procession  ;  but  if  one 
would  see  horsemanship,  and  particularly  if  ho  can  ride 
liimself,  let  him  come  out  here  for  an  hour  before  the 
morning  roll  and  coffee.  No  such  riding  can  be  seen  in 
any  American  city,  and  this  horsemanship  is  only  equalled 
on  the  plains. 

But  as  the  sun  sinks  behind  the  historic  hill  and  castle 


200  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

of  Cliapultepec,  and  the  night  of  the  tropics  falls  quick 
like  the  drop  of  a  purple  curtain,  the  lamps  on  all  these 
carriages  are  lighted,  the  horses'  heads  are  turned  towards 
the  Plaza  Mayor,  and  society  goes  home  at  a  brisk  pace, 
for  all  the  world  like  hacks  after  a  funeral. 

The  ludicrous  relief  from  sadness  of  such  a  departure 
prompts  one  to  wild  and  mocking  laughter,  but  if  society 
ever  saw  any  humor  in  its  stately  and  chilling  daily  parade, 
the  fact  that  this  funereal  affair  long  since  became  hardened 
into  an  imperative  habit  kills  all  outward  expression  of  fun. 
There  are  none  so  brave  as  to  ask  why,  or  so  irreverent  as 
to  advocate  any  deviation  from  the  deadly  dull  routine. 


Its  Coutinenta]  Cus 
tonis. 


CHArTER  XVI r. 

GLIMPSES     OF     SOCIETV     AT     HOME. 
I. 

Let  us  follow  tlic  society  of  this  capital, 
already  reviewed  in  some  of  its  public  as- 
pects, into  the  home  life  of  its  members, 
and  photograph  things  that  make  this  Spanish-American 
civilization  distinctive.  "In  so  far  as  they  perpetuate  the 
flavor  of  Castilian  days,  these  people  are  thoroughbreds," 
says  ray  friend  whose  knowledge  of  old  Spain  and  Spain 
in  the  New  "World  is  both  thorough  and  friendly. 

The  foreign  ceremoniousness  of  social  life  is  restful  by 
contrast  with  Northern  lacks  in  the  direction  of  finish  and 
well-bred  repression  ;  and  a  carefully -shaken  mixture  of 
the  two  civilizations  would  produce  about  the  right  thing. 
People  here  do  not  bolt  life  as  Americans  would  lunch  at 
a  railroad  station  ;  they  slowly  masticate,  digest,  and  enjoy 
it  accordinfj  to  rational  methods  that  come  from  their  Old 
World  inheritances,  and  are  assisted  by  the  leisurely  influ- 
ences of  the  climate,  which  is  an  ameliorating  factor  even 
when  brought  to  bear  on  the  most  nervously  vivacious  sub- 
jects. 

In  discussing  the  usages  of  society  as  represented  in  the 
capital  we  shall  cover  the  domestic  life  of  perhaps  one  sixth 
of  the  population  of  Mexico.  The  home  spirit  is  very 
strong,  being  cultivated  and  exalted,  possibly  at  the  expense 
of  adventurous  qualities  in  the  average  young  man ;  but  a 


202  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

rational  enjoyment  is  certainly  imposed  by  the  restrictions 
that  are  placed  over  the  youth. 

The  girls  are  educated  in  the  excellent  Catholic  schools, 
one  of  them  to  which  my  attention  was  particularly  called 
being  presided  over  by  an  intelligent,  refined,  and  deeply 
conscientious  woman  from  New  York.  The  pupils  wear  a 
simple  uniform  that  did  not  commend  itself  to  an  Ameri- 
can miss  who  bad  been  wonted  to  the  rivalry  of  dress  that 
so  early  makes  your  schoolgirls  foolishly  old ;  but  there 
is  everything  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  plain  dress  that  is 
required  in  similar  schools  on  the  Continent. 

Why  should  children  be  tricked  out  like  dolls,  and 
misses  at  school  or  "  college  "  be  permitted  to  masquerade 
as  women  of  fashion  ?  To  be  sure  it  is  a  part  of  the 
American  habit  of  exhausting  with  all  possible  speed  the 
good  things  of  this  world — but  surely  this  is  a  wise,  a  fore- 
knowing, and  seasoned  philosophy,  that  makes  the  pleasant 
flavor  of  life  last  long,  bidding  each  stage  of  development 
follow  the  other  in  its  due  time  by  slow  and  orderly  ad- 
vancement such  as  Nature  ordains  in  her  supreme  domain  ; 
constant  progress,  but  no  hurry,  no  satiety — not  the  quick, 
fiery  gulp  of  the  Western  drinker,  but  the  compassing  of 
our  delicious  mint-julep  through  a  straw — lengthening  the 
draught,  distributing  its  qualities  over  the  tasting  surface, 
and  giving  the  palate  time  to  take  leisurely  and  fully  ap- 
preciative cognizance  of  the  passing  event.  By  compari- 
son American  child-life  is  crude,  raw,  and  savage  yet — more 
barbaric  than  civilized  in  this  want  of  sensible  oversiirht. 

11. 

Not  to  linger  unprofitably  with  socie- 
The  Senoritas  and  their  ..  ,  ,.  ,  .,i,.i. 

Charms.  ^^  ••"  embryo,  Jet  us  advance  to  the  full- 

fledged  senoritas,  a  subject  of  the  most 


GLIMPSES   OF  SOCIETY   AT   HOME.  203 

fascinating  nature,  whioli,  unfortunately,  must  be  mainly 
studied  by  proxy. 

Certain  newspapers  of  tlic  United  States  have  a  habit  of 
projecting  their  local  environment  to  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  and  arcuinsc  from  the  known  to  the  unknown 
with  a  con6dcncc  that  angels  might  envy.  No  eminent 
citizen  of  the  United  States  crosses  the  border  and  tarries 
for  a  day  or  two  in  this  city  that  is  vastly  more  imperial 
than  they  liavc  yet  appreciated,  but  some  witling  straight- 
way paragraphs  him  as  flirting  with  a  bewitching  sefiorita 
under  the  cypress-trees  that  arched  the  pathway  of  the  last 
of  tlie  Montezumas.  The  fancy  is  delightfully  radiant  with 
Southern  color,  but  the  reality,  on  the  other  hand,  is  cold 
and  distant  as  a  Christmas  sky  in  New  England.  This  idea 
of  the  average  American  in  freshness  is  as  the  waters  of 
our  sizable  lakes  beside  the  saline  properties  of  Tcxcoco. 

As  the  genuine  Spanish  courtship  practised  in  Mexico  is  a 
matter  requiring  at  least  six  months  of  industrious  diplomacy 
to  bring  about  an  engagement  of  the  most  approved  form, 
my  remarks  on  this  delicate  and  interesting  subject  must 
needs  be  vicariously  obtained.    True,  as  Ilosea  Biglow  says, 

"  Caleb  bain't  no  monopoly  to  court  tbe  seenorcetas," 

but  if  Caleb  be  a  resident,  his  monopoly  is  one  that  the 
passing  tourist  cannot  successfully  attempt  to  break. 

The  senoritas  are  charming  to  look  upon,  and  filled  with 
abounding  health,  for  this  high  air  seems  most  gracious  to 
women,  and  their  eyes  arc  very  full  of  passionate  clo(juence. 
One  further  learns  that  these  Mexican  girls  of  the  best  type 
are  intellectually  remarkable,  especially  apt  at  acquiring  lan- 
guage, proficient  musicians,  skilled  in  embroidery  and  the 
present  popular  surface  accomplishments  in  art,  and  often 
keeping  abreast  of  their  brothers  in  that  broad  yet  imprac- 
8* 


204  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

ticable  theorizing  that  is  a  national  characteristic.  In  cult- 
ure they  will  compare  -with  the  choicest  New  England 
product,  though  their  background  may  not  have  brought 
forth  so  despotic  an  article  of  conscience.  Still  they  are 
inflexible  sticklers  in  all  the  forms  of  the  Church,  and  therein 
do  not  differ  from  their  sisters  in  the  same  walks  of  life  at 
the  North,  the  variance  being  solely  that  of  the  creed  by 
which  the  feminine  soul  is  surrounded. 

Women  of  the  South  mature  early,  and  when  a  learned 
old  lawyer  talks  of  the  rare  intellectual  companionship 
which  he  enjoys  with  his  daughter  of  sixteen  years,  the 
confirmed  bachelor  of  the  party  is  attentive  and  decorously 
silent,  but  quite  too  obviously  sceptical.  But  this  paternal 
judgment  is  afterwards  confirmed  by  a  sensible  and  disin- 
terested feminine  advocate,  who  asserts  some  of  the  gener- 
alizations embodied  above.  When  women  grow  enthusi- 
astic over  women  one  is  very  safe  in  believing  in  the  pos- 
session of  unusual  qualities,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other. 

III. 
To  one  fresh  from  the  happy-go-lucky 

The  Castiliau  Court-  -,  ,         ,         i      n     ^  .  i     . 

ship  ^"^  rough-and-ready  features  that  so  con- 

siderably characterize  American  social  life, 
the  customs  of  Spain — ordained  when  woman's  one  un- 
disputed aim  in  life  was  to  marry — make  a  rare  study  in 
the  antique. 

We  have  in  this  country  of  remarkable  contrasts  the  ex- 
tremes of  action  in  regard  to  women.  The  Indians,  on  the 
one  hand,  welcome  her  to  rather  more  than  a  just  share  of 
rights  in  opportunities  to  labor,  and  entertain  for  her  a 
rude  comradeship  that  has  never  admitted  the  idea  of  a 
pedestal  for  her  especial  occupation.  This  rough  equality 
among  the  Aztecs  is  not  without  its  essential  chivalry, 


GLIMPSES  OF  SOCIETY  AT  HOME.  205 

though  the  surface  outlook  is  depressing  with  a  dull  mo- 
notony of  coarse  relation,  lacking  in  the  finer  graces  that 
come  with  a  rise  in  the  scale  of  living. 

The  other  extreme  of  society  accepts  her  as  the  rare  flow- 
er of  life,  to  be  guarded  with  every  hothouse  precaution. 
Ilor  domain  is  the  home,  and  the  youth  who  would  trans- 
plant the  maiden  of  his  choice  from  that  tender  care  must 
abundantly  prove  his  fitness  for  such  a  charge.  Marriage 
is  weighed  here  in  all  its  seriousness — from  the  feminine 
side.  He  will  have  to  woo  with  publicity  and  patience,  for 
his  intentions  are  treated  from  the  start  as  a  family  matter. 

Being  smitten  with  the  charms  of  the  supposed  one  and 
onlv  woman  for  him,  he  is  permitted  to  communicate  to 
her  the  wish  to  pay  his  addresses.  If  agreeable,  she  refers 
him  to  "mamma,"  and  then  the  campaign  may  be  opened. 
The  first  move  is  to  "  play  the  bear " — that  is,  the  lover 
begins  at  a  certain  hour  each  day  to  pace  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  the  casa  where  the  fair  one  lives,  gazing  with  his 
heart  in  his  eyes  at  the  window,  behind  which  the  maiden 
sits  surrounded  by  her  mother,  sisters,  cousins,  and  aunts. 
Under  such  a  battery  of  critical  eyes  he  marches  back  and 
forth,  day  after  day — "  to  sho\r  his  paces,"  as  the  horse  re- 
porter would  have  it.  lie  may  pass  notes  into  this  family 
party,  if  so  be  his  courage  is  sufficient,  but  all  love  passages 
are  sternly  reviewed  by  the  maternal  eye ;  and  the  scnorita 
in  return  can  write  to  him — mother  first  editing  the  copy. 

Etiquette  does  not  appear  to  prescribe  the  length  of  time 
that  love  mu^t  continue  on  this  parade,  but  after  due  pro- 
bation the  father  does  his  duty.  The  matter  now  enters 
on  a  very  practical  stage,  for  the  head  of  the  house  makes 
searching  inquiry  into  the  material  prospects  of  the  suitor, 
his  property,  his  salary  and  chances  in  business,  and  above 
all  his  personal  character,  surroundings,  and  habits.    If  these 


206  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

be  not  satisfactory  the  wooing  is  brought  to  an  abrupt 
conchision.  Otherwise  the  daily  parade  goes  on  until  the 
suitor  is  permitted  to  talk  with  his  inamorata  between  the 
bars  of  the  low  balcony  ;  then  he  begs  the  privilege  of 
calling,  and  "  sees  his  girl,"  always  in  the  presence  of  the 
family  or  some  discreet  member  thereof. 

Here  appears  the  essential  lack  of  the  courtship  that 
proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  all  women  are  angels,  for 
the  suitor  is  bound  hand  and  foot  before  he  is  given  a  real 
opportunity  to  study  the  character  of  one  whom  he  seeks 
as  a  partner  for  life. 

IV. 

The  dark-eyed  beauties  of  Spain  are 
Marriage  and  after. 

duplicated  in  a  striking  way  here  in  both 

the  blonde  and  brunette  types.    You  see  the  light  hair  and 

complexion  of  the  Goths,  the  liquid  eyes  of  the  Moor,  and 

the  Roman  nose,  or  the  dark  hair  and  tinge,  of  the  Iberians  ; 

the  same  modifications  of  races  that  bloom  in  "  the  old 

country."    The  Indian  women  are  often  nobly  planned  and 

in  the  highest  degree  statuesque,  the  delight  of  painters. 

The  young  girls  of  the  higher  circles  are  retiring  until 
after  marriage,  which  gives  them  the  freedom  of  Continental 
usage,  that  of  smoking  cigarettes  before  company  included. 
In  calling  on  a  Mexican  family  the  visitor  will  not  find  the 
seiioritas  talkative,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  have 
been  abroad,  and  all  of  them  stand  aloof  from  male  callers. 
But  all  this  does  not  make  them  the  less  interesting,  and 
the  enchantment  of  distance  is  not  the  smallest  of  their  at- 
tractions, at  least  to  American  eyes.  We  have  a  weakness  for 
taking  gambling  chances.  They  are  very  clever  and  appre- 
hensive, these  senoritas,  having  a  keen  sense  of  fun  and  a 
dash  of  frank  jealousy  where  the  young  men  are  concerned. 

Only  the  civil  marriage  is  legal  under  this  Liberal  govern- 


fr  '-1 


i" 


A  MKAicAN  coruTsnir 


GLIMPSES  OF  SOCIETY   AT  HOME.  209 

mcnt,  but  society  insists  upon  tlic  ecclesiastical  ceremony 
as  well,  and  not  infrequently  tins  follows  some  little  time 
after  the  civil  formalities  have  been  attended  to,  but  the 
groom  does  not  get  his  bride  until  the  Church  shall  have 
sanctioned  tlie  union.  These  church  weddings  are  elabo- 
rate and  expensive  affairs,  and  in  the  country  a  band  of 
music  often  accompanies  the  many  carriages  in  which  both 
parties  arc  attended  by  troops  of  friends. 

A  singular  custom  in  this  city  seems  to  require  the  high 
contracting  parties  to  go  from  the  church  to  the  photog- 
rapher, who  "  takes "  the  pair  and  makes  an  exorbitant 
charge  in  honor  of  so  happy  an  event.  In  general,  by  the 
way,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  heaviest  special  expenses  of 
life  attend  on  births,  marriages,  and  deaths — after  a  schedule 
of  charges  fixed  by  iron  custom,  and  which  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  fully  explain  in  detail ;  but  the  large  tax 
placed  on  entering  life  and  leaving  it  by  the  doctors  and 
undertakers  must  be  part  of  the  abominable  system  pre- 
vailing in  Mexico  which  levies  on  all  goods  going  and  com- 
ing. But  let  us  pick  up  our  dropped  thread.  By  visiting 
the  leading  photographic  galleries  one  can  see  the  brides 
back  for  a  dozen  years,  and  the  Mexican  who  has  been  ab- 
sent from  the  country  might  thus  "  book  up  "  on  the  so- 
cial history  of  his  set,  and  no  questions  asked. 

The  husband  literally  marries  his  wife's  family,  going  to 
her  house,  where  he  comes  under  the  wing  of  the  old  folks. 
Presents  are  given  at  weddings,  but  the  young  people  do 
not  have  a  subsequent  house-warming,  and  would  seem  to 
be  thereafter  socially  dependent  on  the  mother-in-law. 

V. 

In  considering  society  it  must  be  said 
Society  and  the  People.  ...       ,         ,  .  ,   , 

that  Mexico,  like  the  otlier  nations  of  the 


210  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

earth,  suffers  mucli  from  her  unemployed  rich — the  ab- 
sentee landlords,  who  are  Mexican  for  revenue  only,  and 
the  gilded  youth,  just  now  afflicted  with  Anglomania,  who 
have  time  and  means  to  be  foolish  up  to  the  top  of  their 
violent  bent  in  that  direction.  It  is  difficult  to  eradicate 
from  this  portion  of  society  the  idea  impressed  by  centu- 
ries of  Spanish  domination,  that  this  is  a  country  to  be 
milked,  and  not  a  trust  to  be  developed.  The  spectacle  of 
idle  capital,  of  an  obstructive  Bourbonism,  of  money 
drained  to  feed  the  pleasures  of  those  who  accept  none  of 
the  responsibilities  of  their  surroundings,  is  very  depress- 
ing. There  is  so  much  to  be  done  here  that  one  is  impa- 
tient for  a  universal  recognition  of  the  serious  problems 
that  wait  for  slow  solution  at  the  best,  and  are  great  and 
pressing  enough  to  command  the  sympathetic  attention  of 
those  who  are  in  a  position  to  be  concerned  about  them.  Of 
course  all  these  conditions  are  not  peculiar  to  Mexico,  but 
they  seem  very  startling  here.  And  one  needs  no  gift  of 
prophecy  to  see  that  help  is  coming  from  another  quarter. 
Thus  much  for  "  society,"  and  the  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple of  wealth  and  those  who  have  inherited  the  blood  of 
the  conquerors.  What  of  the  Aztecs?  We  have  looked 
in  on  the  homes  of  the  poor,  with  their  appalling  limita- 
tions, when  viewed  in  comparison  with  American  homes 
and  Northern  standards  of  comfort.  Let  us  see  whether 
any  horizon  of  hope  stretches  away  from  a  Mexican  home 
of  the  middle  class.  Such  as  there  is  lies  along  the  path- 
way that  the  children  follow  to  school.  The  attention 
which  this  Liberal  government  gives  to  the  promotion  of 
education  is  wise  building  for  the  present  and  future.  The 
10,000  public  schools,  the  industrial  schools,  the  national 
schools  of  agriculture,  medicine,  law,  and  engineering — 
these  show  that  the  authorities  are  doing  perhaps  the  best 
that  can  be  done  to  educate  the  people. 


GLIMrSES   OF  SOCIETY  AT   HOME.  o^ 

The  father  may  be  a  clerk  in  the  pjovcrnmcnt  palace,  but 
liis  family  live  in  one  or,  at  the  most,  two  rooms  located 
in  the  old,  unhealthy  quarter  of  this  venerable  city.  These 
contracted  surroundings  are  scrupulously  clean  and  scrubbed 
like  an  old-fashioned  New  England  kitchen,  but  lifelong 
familiarity  has  deadened  all  sense  of  the  danger  that  lurks 
beneath  the  household  in  the  unflushed  sewers,  and  grimly 
moeks  the  pale  and  always  busy  women.  The  son  will  do 
better  by  his  family  than  this.  He  will  have  a  better  and 
more  ample  home  in  the  newer  section  of  the  city.  There 
is  genuine  democracy  enough  here  to  make  his  sure  ad- 
vance easily  possible  to  the  energetic  climber. 

Encompassed  by  an  aristocracy  that  tolerates  them,  Diaz 
and  his  associates  wait  on  the  growth  of  a  pojnilar  sup- 
port which  shall  be  animated  by  substantial  loyalty,  grow- 
ing out  of  benefits  conferred  by  a  broad  and  settled  public 
policy  which  has  regard  for  all  classes.  Present  lust  of 
power  docs  not  blot  out  a  large  patriotism  in  all  this.  One 
of  the  most  brilliant  and  successful  young  lawyers  of  the 
city  came  here  from  the  country,  a  friendless  Aztec  boy, 
and  lias  made  his  way  to  the  front.  Such  cases  are  com- 
mon, and  they  arc  bound  to  be  increasingly  multiplied. 
There  is  nothing  constant  but  change,  here  as  everywhere, 
and  the  change  is  to  be  a  levelling  up,  the  advance  of  the 
Indian  in  public  life  and  in  social  recognition.  Ue  already, 
in  some  of  the  states,  occupies  the  post  of  governor,  and  is 
the  large  part  of  the  nation  in  numbers.  The  traditional 
superiority  of  the  Spanish  heirs  to  bloody  inheritance  is 
fading  faster  than  those  who  arc  a  part  of  this  national  life 
apprehend  at  present ;  and  the  Aztec  will  have  liis  own  again 
as  fast  as  he  deserves  to  receive  it.  This  liberal  government 
must  in  time  be  essentially  a  government  by  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Mexico's  religious  outlook. 

I. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  magnitude 

Church  and  State. 


The  Ancient  Union  of  ^j.  ^^^  ^eligious  revolution  wliich  awes 


the  student  of  Mexican  history,  one  must 
remember  that  Spain  and  the  Church  were  one.  The  hand 
of  Rome  was  in  the  iron  glove  of  Cortez,  for  the  standard 
which  the  Spanish  adventurer  set  up  bore  the  motto  in 
Latin :  "  Let  us  follow  the  Cross,  and  in  that  sign  we  shall 
conquer;"  and  so  it  was.  Mexico  was  overrun  in  the 
name  of  Spain  and  Rome,  and  she  was  governed  for  three 
centuries  for  the  profit  of  both  with  relentless  selfishness 
that  has  left  its  deep  and  wide  impress  on  the  material 
and  religious  life  of  this  nation,  to  the  infinite  injury  of 
both.  Church  and  State  were  apparently  indissolubly  and 
profitably  united  for  plunder,  with  a  very  incidental  regard 
for  the  interests  of  the  Indians.  What  the  Conquest 
achieved  the  missionaries  of  the  Spanish  Catholic  Church 
held  fast.  The  religion  of  the  cross  was  enforced  by  arms, 
and  the  walls  of  the  new  faith  were  cemented  with  the 
blood  of  those  slain  under  its  banner.  The  creed  of  force 
and  not  of  love  won  these  new  triumphs  for  the  Church: 

The  most  careful  students  of  this  civilization  seem  to 
ao-ree  that  there  was  nothing  radical  in  the  transformation 
which  gave  the  Aztecs  pictures  of  the  Madonna  and  the 
saints  in  place  of  their  idols  and  heathen  forms.    It  was,  in 


MEXICO'S  RELIGIOUS  OUTLOOK.  213 

the  main,  a  chanf^c  of  externals  in  wliich  the  shadow  sup- 
plied the  place  of  the  substance.  "With  scarcely  an  excep- 
tion the  priests  endorsed  and  inspired  the  cruelties  by  which 
tl)c  power  of  the  Spaniards  was  extended  over  the  native 
races  of  America.  The  story  of  the  brutalities  of  fire,  of 
torture,  of  bloodhounds,  and  of  the  pitiless  sword,  by  which 
the  tribes  were  conquered,  marked  the  advent  of  the  gospel 
of  peace.  The  old  Spanish  writers  record  all  this  with  sat- 
isfaction, as  fitting  work  done  for  the  glory  of  the  Church. 

In  all  this  dark  chapter  of  history  one  man  stands  out 
as  a  lonely  apostle  of  mercy.  It  was  fitting  that  the 
greatest  modern  Aztec  painter  should  embalm  the  fragrant 
memory  of  the  good  friar,  Las  Casas,  the  one  prominent 
representative  of  the  faith  who  unceasingly  urged  a  policy 
of  clemency  upon  the  Spanish  rulers.  His  record  of  the 
atrocities  he  was  powerless  to  stay  forms  the  black  inside 
chapter  that  tells  of  the  Gospel  as  first  expounded  in  Mex- 
ico. "With  mine  own  eyes,"  he  writes,  "I  saw  kingdoms 
as  full  of  people  as  hives  are  of  bees,  and  now  where  are 
they  1  .  .  .  Almost  all  have  perished.  The  innocent  blood 
which  they  had  shed  cried  out  for  vengeance ;  the  sighs, 
the  teal's  of  so  many  victims  went  up  to  God."  The  never- 
ending  stream  of  blood  that  poured  from  the  sacrificial 
stone  before  Iluitzilopochtli  was  not  stayed  by  these  Chris- 
tian liands.  It  was  removed  from  before  the  god  of  stone 
and  continued  to  flow  for  the  glury  of  the  only  true  God. 
The  conception  of  the  Supreme  Being  in  Mexico  and  in 
Spain  was  not  so  very  different,  and  the  transition  from 
the  one  form  of  worship  to  the  other  was  not  unduly  vio- 
lent, it  will  be  seen. 

"With  the  words  of  Las  Casas  sounding  in  his  cars,  one 
approaches  the  portraits  in  the  national  museum  with  pe- 
culiar feelings.     Here  are  the  men  who  did  these  deeds — 


r>  ■ 


214  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

from  Cortez  down  throiigli  the  some  fifty  Spanish  viceroys 
who  successively  governed  the  country,  Avith  occasional 
bishops  or  archbishops  among  them.  The  face  fullest,  on 
the  whole,  of  intellectual  character  is  that  of  Cortez,  and 
the  picture  is  vouched  for  as  the  best  extant.  It  masts 
rather  than  reveals  character.  The  others  seem  like  infe- 
rior men,  the  ready  agents  of  more  powerful  wills,  occa- 
sionally rising  from  mediocrity  into  a  stern  malevolence  of 
purpose.  The  contrast  between  these  faces  and  the  glori- 
fied serenity  and  power  of  the  countenance  of  the  good 
bishop,  as  depicted  by  Felix  Parra,  is  most  impressive. 

The  agents  who  executed  the  will  of  Spain  with  regard 
to  this  distant  possession  were,  as  a  rule,  willingly  obedient 
to  the  policy  which  wrung  all  the  wealth  it  was  possible  to 
exact  from  an  enslaved  people,  and  shipped  it  to  the  cen- 
tral government.  Every  industry  that  could  conflict  with 
the  sale  here  of  Spanish  goods  was  strangled  in  its  infancy 
by  any  means  up  to  the  penalty  of  death.  Never  was  any 
land  more  put  upon  than  was  New  Spain  by  the  "  mother 
country" — that  misnomer  the  most  empty. 

It  is  a  satisfaction  to  read  that  some  of  the  treasure- 
laden  galleons  that  made  annual  voyages  in  fleets  to  Cadiz 
became  the  prizes  of  freebooters  of  the  sea,  whose  title  to 
what  was  lost  to  Mexico  was  as  good  as  that  enforced  by 
the  Spaniards.  The  wars  of  Europe  now  and  again  were 
heard  of  in  the  New  World,  as  when  England's  Admiral 
Anson,  in  1743,  captured  near  Acapulco  an  East  Indian 
galleon  whose  cargo  was  valued  at  $2,000,000.  In  time, 
too,  this  war  stopped  the  exports  of  bullion  to  Spain,  and 
threw  Mexico  on  her  own  resources,  so  that  the  business 
of  this  country  was  developed  to  a  degree  that  made  ap- 
parent the  possibility  of  independence,  and  awoke  the 
causes  that  led  to  the  dawn  of  liberty. 


MEXICO'S  RELIGIOUS  OUTLOOK.  215 


11. 

By  almost  tlicsc  same   steps  did  tlie 
RiHeandFaiiofthc     j^^j^j^       of  the  Church  work  its  own 

Inquisitiou. 

roiuedy.  A  superstitious  people  had  been 
fii-st  coerced  and  then  diplomatically  led  into  the  fullest 
outward  obedience  to  Rome.  The  visit  of  Cortez  to  Spain 
and  the  pope,  in  1527,  had  been  fruitful  in  yielding  a  crop 
of  bulls  of  indulfrence  that  made  the  leader  and  his  soldiers 
assured  heirs  of  heaven,  and  local  saints  had  been  raised  up 
to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the  Indians  fur  signs  and  won- 
ders. Special  holy  privileges  were  also  constantly  on  prof- 
itable sale.  In  time,  too,  the  Mexican  Church  welcomed 
the  Inquisition,  and  indeed  demanded  it. 

About  1529  the  leading  men  of  the  province — religious, 
military,  and  civil — among  them  Zumarraga,  the  first  bish- 
op, the  same  bigot  who  burned  the  historical  records  of 
the  Aztecs,  met  in  council  and  resolved  as  follows  : 

"  It  is  most  necessary  that  the  Holy  Office  of  the  Inquisition  shall 
be  extended  to  this  land,  because  of  the  commerce  with  strangers 
here  carried  on,  and  because  of  the  many  corsairs  abounding  on  our 
coasts,  which  strangers  may  bring  their  evil  customs  among  both 
natives  and  Castilians,  who,  by  the  grace  of  God,  should  be  kept 
free  from  heresy." 

Thereafter  the  holy  office  had  ample  headquarters  and 
the  fullest  sway,  and  condemned  to  roasting  heretics  and 
sorcerers  with  the  utmost  zeal  and  method.  One  public 
burning-place  has  since  been  included  in  the  Alameda,  the 
great  palace  of  the  Inquisition  is  now  a  medical  college, 
while  in  the  city  of  Puebla  the  Baptist  missionaries  control 
for  their  gentle  uses  a  similar  establishment. 

The  first  inquisitorial  auto-da-fe  resulted  in  the  death  of 
"  twenty-one  pestilent  Lutherans,"  and  about  the  last  one 


21 G  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

condemned  to  be  shot,  In  1815,  the  patriot  Morelos,  com- 
panion of  Hidalgo  and  his  snecessor  in  leadership,  both 
parish  priests,  who  Inangurated  the  war  of  independence  in 
1810.  For  declaring  against  Spain  the  court  pronounced 
Jose  Maria  Morelos  "  an  unconfessed  heretic,  an  abettor  of 
heretics,  and  a  disturber  of  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy;  a 
profaner  of  sacraments ;  a  traitor  to  God,  to  the  king,  and 
to  the  pope."  That  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  the 
Inquisition  and  the  Church.  From  1824  to  1867  it  stood 
straight  across  the  path  of  liberty,  and  spared  no  means  to 
stay  progress  towards  a  distinct  national  life.  Holding  one 
half  or  two  thirds  of  the  wealth  of  the  country,  it  had  de- 
clined in  1846  to  contribute  anything  to  help  repel  the 
American  invasion.  This  helped  to  prepare  popular  senti- 
ment for  what  followed. 

HI. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  overdraw  the 
The  confiscation  of  ^^^^^^-^^^  splendor  of  the  Church,  to  whose 

Church  Property.  *^  _  ' 

princely  revenues  all  contributed.  A  tithe 
of  everything  produced  in  Mexico  or  imported  hither  went 
to  the  clergy.  A  century  of  toil  had  been  expended  to  rear 
for  her  occupation  in  this  city  the  noblest  cathedral  on  the 
continent,  a  century  and  a  half  had  gone  to  make  an  edifice 
only  less  grand  in  Guadalajara,  and  at  Puebla  and  elsewhere 
were  cathedrals  of  note — all  magnificently  adorned  with 
gold  and  jewels  and  splendid  things.  The  conventual  es- 
tablishments of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  Avere  on 
the  largest  scale,  and  were  most  elaborately  appointed. 
But  while  the  Church  absorbed  so  great  a  proportion  of 
the  wealth  of  the  country,  it  early  rendered  back  much 
of  it  in  schools,  asylums,  and  other  public  institutions. 
Thomas  A.  Janvier,  who  has  made  a  study  of  these  relig- 


MEXICO'S  RELIGIOUS  OUTLOOK.  217 

ious  foundations,  says :  "  Broadly  speaking,  tlic  influence 
of  the  religious  orders  upon  the  colony  was  beneficial  dur- 
ing its  first  century  ;  neutral  during  its  second ;  harmful 
during:  its  third." 

With  such  a  hold  upon  the  wealth  of  the  country,  and 
with  its  practices  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  life  of  the  nation, 
how  is  it  that  w  ithout  the  introduction  of  any  new  form  of 
faith  the  people  of  Mexico  have  overturned  the  old  order 
of  things?  The  revolution  was  a  clear  economic  necessity, 
but  it  involved  more  than  the  laws  of  trade.  It  exhibits 
the  superficial  character  of  the  hold  possessed  by  the  Church 
on  this  population.  "When  ccclesiasticism  came  in  conflict 
with  the  vital  spirit  of  liberty,  the  weaker  went  to  the  wall ; 
freedom  and  absolutism  were  incompatible.  The  practi- 
cal enslavement  of  the  native  population  had  been  accom- 
plished by  Spain  and  the  Church,  and  both  logically  fell. 
"When  the  people  were  groping  towards  freedom  this  se- 
quence was  little  appreciated  ;  the  first  guarantees  of  Mexi- 
can Independence  were  "  Religion,  Union,  and  Liberty." 

Juarez  was  the  apostle  of  liberty  in  its  broad  sense.  He 
drew  up  the  laws  of  reform  proclaimed  in  1857  by  Comon- 
fort,  and  ho  executed  them  in  1807  upon  the  downfall  of 
the  empire.  This  was  the  most  radical  transformation 
undertaken  by  any  government  of  modern  times.  It  con- 
fiscated property  estimated  at  $300,000,000,  and  devoted 
it  to  the  purposes  of  the  government  of  independence. 
The  Church  was  stripped  at  a  blow  of  all  its  possessions, 
its  convents  and  religious  houses  were  closed,  its  religious 
societies  were  abolished,  and  to-day  the  Church  exists  in 
Mexico  only  by  the  sufferance  of  the  government.  The 
clergy  were  forbidden  to  wear  the  garb  of  their  order,  relig- 
ious parades  and  processions  were  prohibited,  and  the 
civil  marriage  was  declared  to  be  the  only  legal  one.     The 


218  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

retribution  wbich  overtook  the  Church  was  terrible,  how- 
ever much  it  had  been  provoked,  and  it  was  carried  out 
with  a  sternness  which  was  vindictive  in  its  sweeping  char- 
acter. The  harvest  Avhicb  came  out  of  the  dead  past  was 
abundant  after  its  kind. 

When  the  Churcb  favored  a  foreign  mission  and  sup- 
ported Maximilian  it  tried  the  long-suffering  people  beyond 
endurance,  and  their  joy  in  the  humiliation  of  a  great  relig- 
ious system  was  savage  in  its  final  manifestions.  Noth- 
ing is  more  impressive  in  the  study  of  Mexico  than  the 
fantastical  fanaticism  of  libert}''  which  has  w-rought  such 
great  and  often  seemingly  untoward  results,  but  which  all, 
as  seen  in  review,  fit  into  a  remarkable  scheme  of  progress. 
No  human  intelligence  foresaw  the  end  from  the  beginning 
— unless  Juarez  be  made  the  possible  exception. 

IV. 

It  was  inevitable  that  a  revolution  so 
KesnltsoftheSeqnes-g^,        .        -^  -^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^j.^^^  ^^  .^^ 
tration.  ^      ° 

details  should  have  profited  the  govern- 
ment very  little.  These  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars 
which  nominally  accrued  to  the  government  have  not  suf- 
ficed to  keep  the  present  administration  from  a  condition 
of  things  nearly  approaching  to  bankruptcy.  Stunned  and 
indignant  at  the  character  and  extent  of  the  retribution 
which  had  fallen  upon  them,  the  authorities  of  the  Church 
forbade  good  Catholics,  under  penalty  of  excommunication, 
from  investing  in  '*  God's  property."  It  was  deemed  pos- 
sible to  prevent  the  Liberal  government  from  realizing  on 
its  seizures.  This  was  an  obvious  error  of  policy  from  the 
standpoint  of  expediency.  Faithful  sons  of  Korae  kept 
their  hands  off  the  rich  holdings,  for  the  Church,  composed 
of  some  7000  ecclesiastics,  owned  literally  the  best  prop- 


MEXICO'S  RELIGIOUS  OUTLOOK.  219 

erty  of  the  republic  in  both  city  and  country.  These 
comprised,  it  has  been  stated,  about  900  rural  estates  and 
some  25,000  blocks  of  city  property.  IIa<i  friends  of  the 
Church  been  permitted,  or  rather  covertly  directed,  to  buy 
in  all  this,  the  Church  might  have  gained  her  own  in  an 
underhand  way.  But,  in  fact,  the  prohibition  was  so  far 
effectual  that  what  the  Church  had  owned  passed  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  had  small  regard  for  her  favor.  The 
adventurous  and  heretical  elements  of  society  profited  by 
the  sale  at  the  expense  of  both  Church  and  government. 
Many  of  the  wealthy  men  of  Mexico  made  their  fortunes 
at  this  time,  and  their  sons  have  in  a  measure  outlived  the 
odium  attached  to  such  an  investment. 

It  is  very  plain  that  clerical  politicians  now  realize  their 
mistake,  and  sonic  of  the  property  formerly  owned  by  the 
Church  is  controlled  by  those  who  have  acted  in  her  interest 
and  are  virtually  her  trustees.  But  no  such  arrangement 
is  legal,  and,  so  far  as  the  public  is  informed,  the  Church  has 
regained  nothing  of  her  lost  possessions.  The  some  4000 
churches  and  cathedrals  in  which  Catholic  worship  is  per- 
mitted are  held  only  by  the  courtesy  of  the  government, 
the  property  being  at  any  time  liable  to  be  denounced  and 

sold. 

V. 

But  the   power  of  the  Church,  while 
The  Church  Power    .i  •       i     i       i  •     i  *. 

_,    ,  tlius  seemingly  broken,  is  by  no  means  at 

an  end.  With  more  sweep  of  vision  and 
a  more  enlightened  moral  purpose  her  misfortune  might 
have  been  converted  into  an  element  of  strength ;  but, 
weighted  with  such  a  past,  she  failed  to  recognize  her  op- 
portunity and  to  use  it.  She  had  no  toleration  for  the  new 
while  she  has  idly  mourned  over  the  downfall  of  the  old. 
I'erhaps  she  has  gained  moral  strength  from  such  pitiless 


220  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

persecution,  but  this  supposition  docs  not  appear  to  be  borne 
out  in  any  large  way  by  the  known  facts.  With  the  down- 
fall of  her  temporal  power  fell  most  of  the  scandals  attach- 
ing- to  those  who  served  the  interests  of  the  Church,  but 
the  evidences  of  any  widespread  elevation  of  purpose  must 
be  inferential.  The  Church  has  yet  failed  to  readjust  her 
lines  to  the  existing  conditions.  The  relations  between 
the  clergy  and  the  Liberal  government  naturally  continue  to 
be  of  a  strained  character.  Each  regards  the  other  with 
apprehension  and  dislike,  and  the  most  deep-seated  opposi- 
tion to  the  existing  condition  of  affairs  exists  amon<x  the 
priest-led  Church  party.  To  its  representatives  the  friends 
of  the  government  have  offered  no  quarter,  and  with  them 
they  have  sought  no  alliances.  Perhaps  the  time  has  come 
when  a  more  conciliatory  spirit  may  be  safely  exercised. 
Such  appears  to  be  the  tendency  of  President  Diaz's  policy, 
in  that  the  head  of  his  cabinet  is  an  influential  politician 
whose  sympathies  have  been  with  the  Church  party.  If  the 
Church,  which  retains  its  hold  upon  the  women  of  the 
country,  is  ready  to  bury  the  past,  it  can  make  for  itself  a 
useful  future  within  legitimate  channels.  This,  indeed,  is 
its  only  hope.  There  are  in  its  ranks  those  who  recognize 
the  rightfulness  of  a  division  of  the  powers  of  Church  and 
State.  These  prelate  reformers  have  gone  so  far  as  to  offici- 
ally advise  the  observance  of  the  civil  laws  in  regard  to 
marriages  and  other  points  wherein  the  Church  holds  that 
its  province  has  been  invaded.  Such  would  recognize  the 
fact  of  established  peaceful  popular  government,  and  rec- 
ommend that  the  Church  accept  the  inevitable  and  find 
new  work  apart  from  further  participation  in  civil  affairs. 
This  is  the  hopeful  spot  in  the  outlook  between  the 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  powers.  But  such  liberality  is  spo- 
radic rather  than  prevalent,  and  must  be  so  in  the  nature  of 


MEXICO'S   RELIGIOUS   OUTLOOK.  221 

tilings.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Mexico  is  vastly 
different  from  the  Church  as  you  know  it  when  modified  by 
the  atmosphere  of  free  and  intclliijent  America.  The  body 
of  its  priesthood  are  greatly  inferior  to  yours,  largely  made 
up  of  men  whose  learning  is  theological,  whose  views  are 
implacably  narrowed  by  sect,  and  whose  sympathies  are  in- 
tensely provincial.  God  dwells  in  Rome,  and  the  devil 
takes  all  the  rest  of  creation  not  bound  thereto.  Convic- 
tions like  these  being  understood,  and  injected  by  the  men 
who  aggressively  hold  them,  often  of  mixed  blood,  among 
a  population  whose  ancestors  slew  the  supposed  enemies  of 
cherished  stone  images,  and  one  can  see  why  Protestantism 
early  had  its  martyrs  on  this  soil. 

VI. 
Religious  prejudices  are  slow  to  decay, 

The  Oneninj?  for  Mis- 1     .    .1  ^      e    t  i.    1 

.'       "     ,        but  thcv  arc  surely  fading  out  here  m  a 

eiouary  Work,  -  J  b 

remarkable  way.  Time,  education,  rail- 
roads, business  enterprise,  liberty — these  arc  the  forces  at 
work.  The  first  fruits  of  some  of  them  are  materialistic 
rather  than  spiritual,  and  beget  a  cutting-away  from  all  re- 
ligious associations.  So  be  it,  for  the  present.  All  at 
least  combine  to  open  the  field  for  the  labor  of  every  re- 
ligious denomination,  and  there  is  need  for  all. 

Missionary  effort  in  Mexico  must  be  fundamental,  as  it 
usually  is  everywhere.  It  must  plant  schools  and  exalt  the 
influences  of  the  home,  civilize  and  humanize,  play  its  large 
part  in  working  out  a  national  future  that  is  worth  having. 
A  somewhat  unhealthy  sentimentalism  often  considerably 
obscures  the  high  quality  of  statesmanship  that  enters  into 
missionary  work,  and  young  men  miss  an  inspiration  that 
they  ought  to  get  from  this  point  of  view. 

I  met  a  mo?t  intelligent,  frank,  attractive  man  during 
0 


222  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

two  days  of  a  railroad  ride,  whose  knowledge  of  this  coun- 
try and  its  people  was  accurate  and  suggestive.  He  was 
sympathetic,  charitable,  broad,  and  wholly  free  from  cant. 
Casually  I  learned  that  he  was  an  American  missionary. 
Full  of  human  interest,  sensible,  practical,  and  a  worker,  he 
is  exerting  an  influence  here  that  will  tell  in  a  large  way. 
He  had  no  word  of  the  hardships,  the  isolation,  the  infin- 
ite annoyances  that  some  might  find,  and  which  most  trav- 
ellers do  report  as  they  flit ;  but  had  taken  a  grip  on  the 
whole  situation,  past,  present,  and  to  come,  and  was  doing 
a  man's  work  like  a  man.  Think  of  the  opportunity  that 
confronts  such  a  one  and  compare  it  with  the  pastorate  of 
a  fashionable  city  church  in  the  United  States !  New  Eng- 
land never  exalted  the  ministerial  oflice  beyond  what  it 
may  become  in  the  hands  of  one  who  will  fill  up  the  meas- 
ure of  its  legitimate  possibilities  here,  but  the  man  who 
tries  to  do  this  must  be  full-grown  and  come  to  stav.  The 
life  work  of  Dr.  Simeon  Calhoun,  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon, 
was  done  in  Syria,  and  it  matured  late;  but  it  was  grandly 
worth  doing.  And  yet  he  early  cherished  the  vague  ambi- 
tion that  he  would  like  to  be  a  lawyer  and  perhaps  a  con- 
gressman 1 

The  pioneer  Protestant  work  done  in 
AReviewofProtes-  j^j^^j^^  ^^,^^  undertaken  by  the  American 

tant  Labors.  ,     ,     •' 

Bible  and  Tract  societies,  who  sent  col- 
porteurs in  the  wake  of  the  American  army — a  mingling 
of  the  sword  and  the  cross  that  seems  almost  as  incongru- 
ous in  the  retrospect  as  do  the  performances  of  Cortcz  and 
his  attendant  priests.  But  the  first  settled  missionary  work 
was  undertaken  by  the  Baptists  in  1863.  About  1872  the 
Presbyterians,  Methodists  (North  and  South),  and  Congre- 
gationalists  began  vigorous  operations,  and  all  are  actively 


MEXICO'S  RELIGIOUS  OUTLOOK.  223 

in  the  field,  working  with  a  substantial  harmony  of  effort 
that  has  produced  remarkable  results. 

"What  these  are  will  be  best  shown  by  some  comparative 
statements  which  I  draw  from  statistics  furnished  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Butlor.  The  largest  share  of  this  work  is  being  done 
by  the  Methodist  Church.  Eight  years  ago  there  were  130 
Protestant  congregations;  now  there  arc  264.  Then  12 
church  edifices  were  occupied,  and  now  there  are  45. 
The  value  of  this  church  property  was  then  estimated  at 
$139,000,  and  now  the  sum  of  such  property  is  placed  at 
$412,850.  Eight  years  ago  100  places  of  worship  aside 
from  the  church  edifices  were  reported,  and  now  they 
number  219.  In  1877  there  were  28  day-schools,  three 
orphanages,  and  two  theological  seminaries;  now  thqrc  are 
82  day-schools  with  3086  scholars,  130  Sunday-schools  with 
4650  pupils,  and  five  theological  seminaries  with  36  stu- 
dents. Thus  this  field  of  Protestant  effort  is  producing 
its  own  workers,  who  will  not  be  new  to  its  conditions. 
Afaiust  125  agents  employed  in  1877,  there  are  now  291, 
or  more  than  double  that  force — 09  foreign  missionaries 
and  their  wives,  40  ordained  native  ministers,  163  unor- 
daiued  native  helpers,  and  19  women  sent  by  the  women's 
societies.  "What  are  the  results  produced  by  this  array  of 
workers  ?  The  communicants  are  placed  at  1 3,090,  and  the 
probable  adherents  of  Protestantism  at  27,300.  This  is 
but  tlie  infancy  of  the  work.  There  are  11  presses  cm- 
ployed,  and  these  issue  13  periodicals  whose  united  circu- 
lation is  put  at  11,400 — which  illustrates  the  fact  that  this 
is  not  a  reading  population  ;  but  nearly  4,000,000  pages  of 
religious  literature  arc  annually  published. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  that  in  eight  years  the 
hold  of  Protestantism  has  been  more  than  doubled.  The 
worst  is  past,  so  far  as  persecution  is  concerned,  but  such 


224  .      MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

fanaticism  as  comes  out  of  the  dark  national  background 
is  liable  to  break  into  violence  at  any  time.  Still  each 
5'ear  gives  greater  scope  to  the  liberalizing  forces  that  make 
for  domestic  peace  and  national  development.  Tiie  gov- 
ernment welcomes  any  rival  to  its  old  antagonist,  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church.  The  temper  of  those  in  authority 
is  illustrated  in  an  incident  related  by  Mr.  Strother  in  one 
of  his  reports.  A  Protestant  clergyman,  who  applied  to 
the  governor  of  an  important  state  for  a  guard  to  protect 
his  church  against  a  threatened  mob,  received  this  reply : 

"  I  willingly  give  you  the  desired  protection,  as  it  is  my  duty  to  see 
that  the  laws  are  respected ;  and  while  I  feel  no  interest  whatever 
in  your  religious  forms  or  opinions,  we  are  all  interested  in  encour- 
aging l^\e  organization  of  a  body  of  clergy  strong  enough  to  keep  the 
old  Church  in  check." 

There  is  true  bravery  in  the  missionary  spirit  as  exhibited 
in  Mexico,  Thus  writes  Rev.  John  W.  Butler,  the  head  of 
the  Methodist  forces  here  : 

"  We  well  remember,  soon  after  we  came  into  this  country,  that 
an  English  gentleman  called  upon  our  superintendent  to  protest 
ar'ainst  his  sending  one  of  our  missionaries  to  the  city  of  Guanajuato. 
lie  tried  to  make  us  believe  it  would  cost  his  life  and  the  life  of  his 
family.  Dr.  Butler  quietly  replied  that  our  missionaries  knew  in 
whom  they  had  believed,  and  were  willing  to  trust  their  lives  in  His 
hands.  In  a  few  days  both  superintendent  and  missionary,  accom- 
panied by  their  wives,  started  for  Guanajuato.  At  times  it  looked 
as  though  it  might  cost  some  lives  before  the  work  was  established ; 
but  God  was  with  his  faithful  missionaries,  and  to-day  we  have  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred  adherents  in  the  very  city  of  Guana- 
juato, besides  all  those  who  have  died  in  the  faith  and  those  who 
have  removed  to  other  places.  Some  of  these  latter  have  been  the 
means  of  establishing  other  congregations  in  different  parts  of  the 
state,  so  that  we  feel  sure  that  upward  of  one  thousand  souls  have 
been  led  "  from  darkness  to  light,"  as  the  result  of  seven  years  of 
missionary  work  in  that  one  state !" 


MEXICO'S  RELIGIOUS  OUTLOOK.  225 

YIIT. 
The  story  of  the  first  American  niis- 

TheMartiT  Stephens.     .  .        ■  ■,  i        t>         t   t 

'  sionarv  niartvr  is  sad  enoii<fh.     Kcv.  J.  L. 

^  ml  CJ 

Stephens  was  graduated  from  the  Pacific  Tlieological  Sem- 
inary in  1872,  and  with  his  classmate,  Kcv.  David  F.Wat- 
kins,  came,  under  Congregational  auspices,  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  the  city  of  Guadalajara  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  At 
first  the  Romanist  opposition  was  so  bitter  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  AVatkins  were  stoned  in  the  streets,  but  the  governor 
of  the  state  and  the  commander  of  the  Mexican  forces  lo- 
cated there  countenanced  the  mission  work,  and  in  August 
of  the  following  year  things  had  so  far  adjusted  themselves 
that  the  Protestants  were  well  treated.  Then,  in  Novem- 
ber, Mr.  Stephens  moved  to  Ahualuco,  a  town  of  five  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  ninety  miles  away.  His  success  was  so 
great  as  to  stir  the  animosity  of  the  cura,  who,  March  1, 
preached  an  exciting  sermon  to  the  Indians,  in  which  he  is 
quoted  as  saying:  "It  is  necessary  to  cut  down,  even  to 
the  roots,  the  tree  that  bears  bad  fruit.  You  may  inter- 
pret these  words  as  you  please."  Of  the  events  of  the 
next  day,  thus  directly  incited,  a  Mexican  newspaper  re- 
ports :  "  At  2  A.M.  on  the  2d  of  March  the  liouse  of  Mr. 
Stephens  was  assaulted  by  a  mob,  crying,  '  Long  live  the 
cura !  death  to  the  Protestants !'  They  forced  the  doors 
and  entered,  destroying  and  stealing  all  they  found.  Mr. 
Stephens  was  brutally  assassinated,  his  head  severed  into 
several  parts,  and  his  body  was  much  mutilated."  The 
"  tree  "  was  cut  and  chopped.  One  of  the  dead  man's 
converts  was  killed,  others  were  violently  assaulted,  while 
attempts  were  made  to  poison  some. 

There  liave  been  native  martyrs  to  the  Protestant  faitli 
not  a  few,  the  cases  of  persecution  were  many  in  tliose 


226  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

earlier  years,  and  they  are  occurring  to-day;  but  in  1873 
President  Lerdo  declared  his  purpose  to  do  all  he  could  for 
the  protection  of  the  missionaries  and  of  religious  liberty, 
and  the  same  determination  exists  far  more  powerfully  in 
the  person  of  President  Diaz  to-day.  He  is  better  able  to 
preserve  the  peace,  and  each  year  adds  to  the  strength  and 
the  ready  resources  of  the  tolerant  national  government. 


The  Aucicnt  Aztec 
Associalions. 


CUAPTER  XIX. 

CHAPULTEPEC    AXD    ITS    MEMORIES. 
I. 

The  most  intcrestinf^  spot  in  Mexico  to 
tbe  tourist,  whatever  may  bo  his  "fad" 
in  the  matter  of  siglit-seeing,  must  be  tho 
castle  of  Chapultcpec.  Attractive  in  itself,  this  spot  is 
fuller  than  any  other  of  the  national  history.  The  student 
of  its  site,  the  rocks,  trees,  and  walls,  might  write  the  com- 
plete and  graphic  story  of  this  people — for  about  this  spot 
all  the  notable  events  and  the  famous  men  of  the  genera- 
tions that  make  Mexico's  history  have  gathered  and  lived. 
Here  is  a  [jrand  stage  that  has  been  the  scene  of  exciting; 
acts  in  many  a  play  of  love  and  death,  comedy  and  tragedy ; 
it  has  sampled  passing  life  to  illustrate  all  its  phases  at 
some  characteristic  point  in  the  turbulent  life  of  a  nation. 
Truly  the  associations  of  this  hill  and  castle  are  unap- 
proached  by  anything  to  be  found  in  the  United  States. 
Let  us  glance  at  some  of  them  in  rapid  review. 

About  two  miles  southwest  of  the  city  is  Chapultcpec, 
and  leading  to  that  rocky  eminence  is  Maximilian's  grand 
boulevard,  Pas(fb  de  la  lieforma.  One  can  drive  to  it  thus 
fittingly  in  the  state  of  a  carriage,  or  steal  more  humbly  up 
to  the  gates  of  the  park  behind  the  galloping  mules  of  the 
liorse-car  line  that  leaves  the  west  side  of  the  Plaza  Mayor, 
and  passes  along  old  streets  that  reveal  the  liomes  of  the 
people  in  all  their  sturdy  frankness.  Letter  still  is  the  com- 
promise that  goes  by  carriage  and  returns  by  car,  allowing 
a  long  day's  visit,  such  as  will  leave  firm  impressions  on  the 
memory,  and  lead  to  other  days  of  profitable  reconnoitre. 


228  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  hill  is  an  immense,  isolated,  rocky  protuberance  tliat 
rises  boldly  out  of  the  swampy  soil  of  the  valley  ;  and  from 
under  the  shadow  of  this  great  rock  gushes  a  magnificent 
spring  of  water.  These  characteristics  made  Chapultepec 
a  vantage-point  early  recognized  and  seized  upon,  and  they 
have  never  permitted  it  to  sink  in  importance  since.  Men 
Lave  come  and  gone  in  the  valley ;  but  they  have  all  cov- 
eted and  distinguished  Chapultepec  until  it  is  clothed  witli 
legend  and  romance  as  with  creepers,  giant  trees,  mosses, 
and  all  the  multiplied  devices  of  tropical  nature. 

Here  one  can  con  history  that  runs  back  about  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  for  we  are  told  that  the  Aztecs  made 
their  appearance  in  1245  at  this  "  Hill  of  the  Grasshopper," 
then  surrounded  by  a  marsh.  Eighty  years  after  they 
founded  their  famous  city  of  Tenochtitlan  on  Lake  Tez- 
coco,  halting  there  at  the  sign  of  an  eagle  perched  on  a 
prickly  pear  that  grew  out  of  the  crevice  of  a  rock  on  a 
little  island.  This  legend  became  immortal  common  prop- 
erty when  the  Spaniards  placed  it  on  their  money.  The 
dollar  is  an  epitome  of  the  Aztec  past — on  the  one  side  the 
rude  representation  of  the  blazing  sun,  the  Indian  deity  ; 
and  on  the  other  an  eagle  sitting  on  a  cactus  and  eating  a 
snake.  In  this  solitary  instance  the  conquerors  recognized, 
though  by  an  empty  sign,  the  claims  of  the  people  who  gave 
them  wealth. 

II. 

But  more  of  the  old  city.    Ditches  and 

Tenochtitlan  and  the  ^^^^^i^  ^^^.^  ^       ^^  ^^--^q  ^l^e  necessary  I 

Floating  Gardens.  "  i  r  i   i  ' 

land,   and  so   the  wonder  of  an  adobe  \ 

Venice  grew  with  years  to  amaze  the  Spaniards  and  make 

controversy  to-day  over  the  real  extent  and  importance  of 

the  place  which  the  Spaniards  razed  at  the  time  of  the 


CUArULTEPEC  AND  ITS  MEMORIES.  229 


i 

> 
O 


t 


1a,  .1-^.  ^^rAvr^h 


"v; 


LAhb  I  bAwwv  \i 


IIKI.ATION   OF   Till-:    I.AKKS   TO   TlUC   CITV. 

Conquest.  It  was  obviously  not  built  in  any  such  massive 
fashion  as  the  pyramids  of  the  Toltecs,  else  Cortez  and  his 
less  than  five  hundred  soldiers  could  not  have  destroyed  in 
seventeen  days  three  fourths  of  the  city  which  Prcscott  be- 
lieved to  have  contained  00,000  houses  and  a  population 
of  300,000.  The  ancient  city  of  Mexico  was  no  doubt  filled 
with  light  structures  such  as  the  Indians  rear  with  little 
pains  to-day,  and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  adobe  did 
not  figure  most  largely  in  its  more  pretentious  buildings. 

One  can  now  see  the  gardens  that  do  not  float,  and  re- 
call those  that  doubtless  did,  by  embarking  with  Indian 
boatmen  who  will  propel  with  poles  their  roofed  and  cur- 
tained scows  along  the  canal  that  runs  from  the  city,  be- 
tween willows  and  poplars,  to  Lake  Xochimilco.  At  Santa 
Anita  and  elsewhere  are  the  little  patches  of  garden  ground, 
separated  by  narrow  canals,  where  flowers  and  vegetables 
are  grown  for  the  city  markets.  The  spring  flower  festivals 
— wlicn  the  banks  of  the  great  canal  and  boats  manned  by 
bare-legged,  brown  boatmen  arc  buried  in  blossoms — con- 
stitute most  brilliant  and  characteristic  felcs,  which  arc 
celebrated  with  an  irrepressible  enthusiasm  wholly  foreign 
to  Yankccland.  The  beauty  and  fashion  of  the  capital  fill 
tl)e  carriages  that  line  the  banks  of  the  canal,  and  view  the 
simple  Indians  as  they  literally  revel  in  roses  or  poppies. 
These  oldest  inhabitants  sing  out  of  overflowing  joy,  to  tho 
0* 


230  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

accompaniment  of  guitar,  harp,  or  viol,  and  are  royally  con- 
tent with  the  happiness  of  a  day — but,  alas,  they  also  re- 
main eternally  careless  for  to-morrow  ! 

The  original  floating  islands,  conceived  in  the  Aztec 
poverty  of  land,  were  ingenious  and  satisfactory  devices. 
Reeds,  rushes,  and  bushes  were  bound  into  a  raft  on  which 
was  placed  sediment  from  the  lake  bottom,  constituting  a 
rich  soil.  The  sun  beat  on  it  from  above,  and  the  water 
was  always  at  the  roots  of  these  ideal  gardens.  No  one 
familiar  with  tropical  growths  will  question  that  astonish- 
ing results  must  have  been  secured. 

Chapultepec  was  always  important  to  Tenochtitlan,  whose 
inhabitants  had  connected  the  hill  with  their  lake  city  by  a 
causeway,  and  over  this  extended  an  aqueduct — on  exactly 
the  line  occupied  by  the  existing  aqueduct. 


III. 

In  visiting  Chapultepec  one  is  delighted 
the  Castle. 


The  Great  Park  and    ^^^  ^^,^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^.^^^^  ^^  cypress-trees 


that  have  been  spared  amid  the  otherwise 
complete  and  wanton  destruction  of  forests  throughout 
the  valley.  The  entire  base  of  the  hill  is  encompassed  by 
woodland  that  on  the  west  broadens  into  a  kingly  park. 
These  trees — ahuekuetes — are  monarchs  not  only  of  all  they 
survey,  but  of  their  kind  on  the  continent.  Their  chief, 
"  the  Cypress  of  Montezuma,"  is  forty-six  feet  in  circum- 
ference, a  noble  fellow,  full  of  stately  cheer  which  he  has 
generously  shared  with  the  noted  men  of  each  generation 
for  years  untold — receiving,  no  doubt,  many  a  spontaneous 
confidence  in  return  for  his  rare  companionship.  Yet  this 
Methuselah  of  the  forest  bears  his  years  with  lusty  vigor — 
in  appearance,  like  his  fellows,  he  is  venerable  with  grace- 
fully pendent  gray  mosses ;  but  no  more  stricken  with  gar- 


CnAPFLTEPEC  AND   ITS  MEMORIES.  031 

rulous  moods  tban  367  years  ago,  when  his  acquaintance 
was  enlarged  to  take  in  the  Spaniards.  Very  likely  some 
poet  has  abused  this  old  party  by  attempting  to  rehearse 
his  experiences — for  verse-making  is  a  violent  disease  here, 
and  this  would  be  a  "catching"  phase  of  the  obvious  such 
as  poetasters  are  partial  to. 

A  broad  road,  bordered  by  the  most  impulsive  foliage, 
circles  this  fortified  hill  of  porpliyry  that  is  crowned  by  a 
very  satisfactory  palace.  The  height  is  occupied  by  the 
national  military  academy,  the  West  Point  of  Mexico,  and 
as  the  residence  of  the  president  of  the  republic.  It  is 
not  an  uncommon  thing  for  visitors  to  discover  President 
and  Mrs.  Diaz  out  for  a  morning  stroll,  and  parties  of 
horsemen  and  fair  equestriennes  are  more  frequently  seen 
than  carriages.  On  all  days,  but  especially  Sundays  and 
feast  days,  this  is  the  people's  park. 

In  1783  royal  permission  was  granted  the  then  Spanish 
viceroy,  whose  name  is  of  no  consequence,  "  to  repair  and 
put  in  order  the  palace  of  Chapultepec" — a  structure  whose 
origin  does  not  seem  to  be  satisfactorily  traced;  but  the 
viceroy  died,  leaving  a  son  who  took  up  his  father's  robes 
of  ofiBce,  extended  his  plans,  and  reconstructed  the  palace 
at  an  outlay  of  $300,000.  Additions  were  subsequently 
made  by  about  every  government  this  troubled  country  has 
had — so  that  a  good  deal  must  have  been  done  up  here. 

The  palace  is  a  very  imposing  structure,  commanding  the 
landscape  two  hundred  feet  above  the  valley.  On  reaching 
the  height  we  enter  the  great  stone  buildings  of  the  lower 
terrace  that  are  devoted  to  the  military  academy,  where  hun- 
dreds of  bright-looking  lads  in  uniform  may  be  seen  pacing 
about,  text-book  in  hand.  Few  of  them  will  ever  live  so 
near  a  palace  again,  and  not  many  of  them  were  accustomed 
to  luxurious  surroundings  at  home.     The  government  has 


232  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

a  policy  with  regard  to  tliem,  as  it  has  in  most  things. 
This  school  is  intended  to  be  democratic,  and  it  reaches 
poor  boys  whose  advance  makes  not  only  loyal  individual 
supporters  for  the  Liberal  party,  but  insures  strong  parti- 
sans in  every  family  distinguished  by  the  elevation  of  one 
of  its  members. 

Above  these  buildings,  on  a  still  higher  terrace,  is  the 
Mexican  White  House,  where  Maximilian  sought  to  do- 
mesticate royalty  —  a  marble  palace,  indeed,  with  richly 
decorated  halls  and  galleries  opening  into  rare  gardens. 
Each  terrace  is  a  nest  of  flowers ;  and  at  the  eastern  base 
of  the  hill  a  winding  and  terraced  drive  leads  to  a  larger 
garden  with  an  artificial  lake. 

The  views  that  stretch  away  below  in  this  great  basin  of 
the  Cordilleras  are  admitted  to  be  comparable  with  nothing 
in  America,  and  probably  nothing  like  their  duplicate  exists 
in  the  world.  We  look  back  on  the  landscape  made  fa- 
miliar from  the  tower  of  the  cathedral,  seeing  the  city  in 
the  distance  with  that  building  as  its  centre-piece,  and  the 
plain  with  encompassing  mountains,  the  towering  volca- 
noes and  nestling  lakes,  all  standing  out  with  pre-Raphael- 
ite  distinctness. 

"  What,"  inquires  the  Princess  Salm-Salm,  "  are  Central 
Park  in  New  York,  Regent's  Park  in  London,  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne  in  Paris,  the  Bieberich  Park  on  the  Rhine,  the 
Prater  in  Vienna  —  nay,  even  the  pride  of  Berlin,  the 
Thiergarten  —  what  are  they  all  in  comparison  with  this 
venerable  and  delightful  spot?"  That  conundrum,  so  far 
as  we  know,  declines  to  be  seated ! 


y 


CUArULTEPEC  A^'D   ITS  MEMORIES.  l'35 


IV. 

However   captivatincj   natural   scenery 
tec  Royalty. 


Theories  about  Az-    ^^^^^  ^^^  ^j^^^.^   ^^^^^^^   ^^^^^^  .^^^^  j^  ^^^^^^^^^^ 


heroism  and  tlic  .association  with  personal 
fame,  in  order  to  make  any  spot  permanently  attractive  in 
the  largest  sense.  This  test  of  human  interest  Chapultepec 
meets  with  a  line  of  names  that  must  always  possess  ro- 
mantic attraction  for  the  tourist. 

The  Aztec  sovereiLjns  undoubtedly  walked  beneath  these 
hoary  trees,  though  the  authorities  most  learned  in  local  an- 
tiquity do  not  sanction  the  fancies  of  those  writers  who  de- 
clare that  Chapultepec  was  occupied  as  "  a  *  summer  resort' 
for  the  chiefs,  or  '  a  royal  villa.'  "  A.  F.  Bandelier  positive- 
ly controverts  this  assumption.  The  hill  appears  to  have 
been  used  to  some  extent  as  a  royal  burial-place,  however. 
If,  then,  instead  of  supposing  with  a  woman  writer  that 
here  "  the  last  of  the  Aztec  emperors  wandered  with  his 
dark-eyed  harem" — something  that  could  not  be,  for  Gua- 
temotzin  was  too  busy  fighting  the  Spaniards  to  have  any 
time  for  such  foolishness — we  observe  in  fancy  the  Aztecs 
interring  dead  royalty,  the  solemn  ceremony  will  be  in 
keeping  with  these  impressive  surroundings.  A  partially 
obliterated  effigy  of  one  of  these  old  emperors,  which  can 
be  found  on  a  ledge  of  natural  rock  at  the  eastern  base  of 
the  hill,  will  help  to  give  reality  to  our  imaginings. 

V. 

Licntenaut  Grant  ^'""^  this  spot  the  Mexican  war  rises 
and  the  American  out  of  the  misty  distance  into  a  vivid  and 
invafliou.  easily  followed  panorama.     Over  there  to 

the  west,  about  a  mile  away  and  in  full  view,  is  the  battle- 
field of  Molino  del  Key  (the  Mill  of  the  King),  and  Ulysses 


236  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

S.  Grant  was  in  the  figlit,  September  8,  1847,  a  modest 
and  trusty  lieutenant,  who  exhibited  some  soldierly  re- 
sources, but  was  by  no  means  a  star  figure.  He  had  been 
with  "the  army  of  occupation"  under  General  Zachary 
Taylor  in  Texas  and  down  to  Monterey  at  the  north ; 
and  then  sailed  from  the  liio  Grande  around  to  Vera 
Cruz  with  General  "Winfield  Scott's  "army  of  invasion," 
which  had  accomplished  its  victorious  march  of  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  miles  from  the  coast  to  the  suburbs  of  the 
capital  city.  General  Grant's  comments  in  his  "Memoirs" 
touching  this  war  are  doubly  interesting  to  one  who  has 
seen  "  the  lay  of  the  land,"  and  can  thus  better  appreciate 
that  clear  sense  which  shines  through  all  his  judgments. 
Though  speaking  in  high  praise  of  Scott's  generalship,  the 
great  commander  characterizes  the  battle  of  Molino  del 
Rey  and  the  storming  of  Cbapultcpec  as  unnecessary.  lie 
says: 

"  In  years  later,  if  not  at  the  time,  the  battles  of  Molino  del  Key 
and  Chapultepec  have  seemed  to  me  to  have  been  wholly  unnecessa- 
ry. AVhen  the  assaults  upon  the  garitas  of  San  Cosme  and  Belen 
were  determined  upon,  the  road  running  east  to  the  former  gate  could 
have  been  reached  easily,  without  an  engagement,  by  moving  along 
south  of  the  mills  until  west  of  them  sufficiently  far  to  be  out  of  range, 
thence  north  to  the  road  above  mentioned ;  or,  if  desirable  to  keep 
the  two  attacking  columns  nearer  together,  the  troops  could  have 
been  turned  east  so  as  to  come  on  the  aqueduct  road,  out  of  range  of 
the  guns  from  Chapultepec.  In  like  manner  the  troops  designated 
to  act  against  Belen  could  have  kept  east  of  Chapultepec,  out  of 
range,  and  come  on  to  the  aqueduct,  also  out  of  range  of  Chapulte- 
pec. Molino  del  Rey  and  Chapultepec  would  both  have  been  neces- 
sarily evacuated  if  this  course  had  been  pursued,  for  they  would  have 
been  turned." 

The  Americans  retired  from  Molino  del  Rey,  and  not 
until  the  13  th  was  Chapultepec  assaulted  at  close  quarters. 


CnArULTEPEC  AND  ITS   MEMORIES.  237 

Our  artillery  labored  for  a  day  against  the  devoted  garri- 
son on  this  bill,  and  tben  came  the  storming  by  troops  un- 
der command  of  General  I*illow.  How  far  this  assault 
was  removed  from  a  holiday  parade  will  be  realized  only 
as  one  looks  up  and  down  the  precipitous  and  seemingly 
insurmountable  crags  at  the  south  of  the  castle,  where  the 
Americans  placed  their  scaling-ladders,  while  the  rest  of 
the  troops  kept  the  attention  of  the  Mexicans  at  the  north 
side,  where  there  is  an  easy  slope.  Thus  we  took  Chapnl- 
tepec,  and  captured  the  gallant  defender  of  the  position. 
General  Nicholas  Bravo.  Soon  after,  the  Americans  effect- 
ed an  easy  entrance  into  the  capital  of  Mexico,  where  the 
politicians  had  been  characteristically  exalting  their  selfish 
interests  at  the  expense  of  the  nation. 

VI. 

The  Dead  Cadet..  ^his  height  was  occupied  as  a  military 
and  oar  Captured  academy  then,  as  at  present,  and  we  killed 
Cauuon.  many  of  the  brave  lads  enrolled  as  stu- 

dents, who  fought  gallantly  in  literal  defence  of  their  home. 
Now  let  us  stroll  down  to  the  garden  at  the  eastern  base 
of  the  hill,  and  there  we  shall  find  a  monument,  reared  in 
1880,  in  memory  of  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  the  ca- 
dets of  1847 — "Who  fell  in  the  North  American  inva- 
sion." The  simple  pathos  of  that  shaft  shames  all  visitors 
from  the  greater  republic,  and  it  is  significant  that  Joaquin 
Miller,  David  A.  Wells,  and  nearly  every  other  American 
writing  about  this  spot  demand  that  the  United  States 
sliall  give  back  to  Mexico  the  old  cannon  that  are  consid- 
ered "  objects  of  interest "  on  the  plains  at  West  Point, 
together  with  every  Mexican  banner  or  other  trophy  that 
may  be  treasured  in  our  national  museums. 

"  If  it  is  peace  and  amity,  and  political  influence  and  ox- 


238  MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 

tended  trade  and  markets,  and  a  maintenance  of  the  Mon- 
roe doctrine  on  the  American  continent  that  we  are  after," 
vvrites  Mr.  Wells,  "  such  an  act  would  do  more  to  win  the 
hearts  and  dispel  the  fears  and  suspicions  of  the  people  of 
Mexico,  and  of  all  the  states  of  Central  and  South  Ameri- 
ca, than  reams  of  diplomatic  correspondence,  and  endless 
travelling  trade  commissions,  and  formal  international  reso- 
lutions." 

"How  much  are  these  old  pot-metal  cannon  worth?" 
queries  Mr.  Miller.  "  llow  much  would  they  melt  down  ? 
They  should  be  rolled  down  the  bank  into  the  river  rather 
than  lie  there  forever  remindino-  us  of  an  event  that  outrht 
to  be  forgotten.  Send  them  every  one  back  to  Mexico, 
where  they  belong.  And  in  return  for  them,  my  word  for 
it,  you  will  get  their  weight  in  gold  before  another  century 
rolls  by.  But  we  don't  want  gold.  We  want  the  good- 
will of  Mexico." 

Mr.  Miller's  observations  are  not  without  point. 

We  won  from  Mexico  a  territory  of  a  million  square 
miles,  and  out  of  the  mines  in  that  area  we  have  extracted 
in  noble  metals  alone,  it  is  said,  treasure  amounting  to 
$3,500,000,000 — a  sum  equivalent  to  every  man's  weight 
in  gold  who  was  in  our  army !  This  is  tremendous  spoil, 
indeed,  to  say  nothing  of  the  other  riches  of  Texas,  Cali- 
fornia, Colorado,  and  the  territories  of  New  Mexico,  Ari- 
zona, Nevada,  and  Utah. 

Perhaps  we  can  afford  such  a  belated  and  sentimental 
reparation — if  such  it  can  be  called — as  these  gentlemen 
propose. 

*'  For  myself,"  declares  General  Grant,  "  I  was  bitterly 
opposed  to  the  [annexation]  measure,  and  to  this  day  re- 
gard the  war  which  resulted  as  one  of  the  most  unjust  ever 
waged  by  a  stronger  against  a  weaker  nation.     It  was  an 


CHAPULTEPEC  AND  ITS  MEMORIES.  239 

instance  of  a  republic  following  the  bad  example  of  Euro- 
pean monarchies,  in  not  consitloring  justice  in  their  desire 
to  acquire  additional  territory." 

VII. 

„     .  ,  ,         Maximilian  and  Carlotta,  emperor  and 

Reminiscences     of  _  '         ' 

Masimiiian   and    cmprcss  of  shortlivcd  grcatncss,  are  best 
Carlotta.  recalled  by  Chapultcpec.     Here  was  to 

have  been  the  centre  of  their  sumptuous  court,  and  this  is 
the  royal  residence  which  they  beautified,  and  for  which 
they  had  planned  elaborate  improvements.  What  a  heter- 
ocreneous  collection  of  shades  might  bo  called  in  review 
under  the  gloom  of  these  towering  cypresses,  with  their 
festoons  of  Spanish  moss,  from  the  Toltecs  down  to  this 
Austrian  archduke ! 

Maximilian's  career  in  Mexico  was  the  product  of  the 
French  invasion,  and  of  a  woman's  ambition  for  power 
and  place.  Louis  Napoleon,  in  1861,  no  doubt  moved 
thereto  by  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Rebellion,  which 
made  the  future  of  this  continent  a  matter  for  kings  to 
speculate  on,  and  finding  a  pretext  in  the  suspension  by 
Mexico  of  payment  on  her  debt  held  in  Europe,  formed  the 
famous  tripartite  alliance  of  France,  England,  and  Spain. 

After  a  period  of  forty  years  of  internal  feuds,  during 
which  Mexico  had  passed  through  thirty-six  changes  of 
government  and  experienced  seventy -three  rulers,  tlie  Lib- 
eral forces  had  routed  the  army  of  the  Church  party,  and 
Juarez  assumed  the  presidency,  lie  was  confronted  by  an 
impoverished  country  and  an  empty  treasury,  and  proposed 
to  suspend  all  payments  on  foreign  loans.  "This  act," 
wrote  Mr.  Corwin  to  Secretary  Seward,  "may,  perhaps, 
have  been  imprudent.  Mexico  could  not  pay  her  debts, 
however,  and  maintain  her  government;  and  perhaps  it 


240  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

was  as  well  to  say  she  would  not  pay  for  two  years  as  to 
promise  to  pay  and  submit  herself  to  the  mortification  of 
constantly  asking  further  time."  Our  diplomatic  repre- 
sentative further  declared,  "  I  cannot  find  in  this  republic 
any  men  of  any  party  better  qualified,  in  my  judgment,  for 
the  task  than  those  in  power." 

The  allied  powers  sent  over  a  military  force  which  took 
possession  of  Vera  Cruz.  England  and  Spain  speedily 
compromised  their  interests  and  withdrew,  but  the  French 
remained,  bent  on  conquering  the  country.  The  Church 
was  helping  its  own.  The  national  forces  fought  bravely 
to  stay  the  invaders,  who  entered  the  capital  in  triumph  in 
June,  1863.  A  month  later  these  allies  of  the  Church 
party  had  called  together  a  picked  "  assembly  of  notables," 
which  body  thus  decreed,  in  one,  two,  three  order : 

"  The  Mexican  nation  adopts  for  its  form  of  government  a  limited, 
hereditary  monarchy,  with  a  Catholic  prince ;  the  sovereign  shall  take 
the  title  of  Emperor  of  Mexico ;  the  imperial  crown  of  Mexico  is  of- 
fered to  His  Imperial  Highness,  Prince  Ferdinand  Maximilian,  arch- 
duke of  Austria,  for  him  and  his  descendants." 

Two  years  before,  Mexicans  resident  in  Paris  had  in- 
vited Maximilian  to  rule  over  the  country  from  which  they 
derived  their  revenues.  He  naturally  asked  for  a  more 
general  endorsement  of  the  flattering  proposition,  and  the 
above  formal  call  was  transmitted  in  August,  1863,  and  re- 
inforced in  March,  1864,  by  still  another  Mexican  deputa- 
tion. The  crown  was  accepted  April  10,  at  the  Castle  of 
Miramar,  and  Napoleon  III.  pledged  his  army  and  money 
to  establish  Maximilian  on  his  tropical  throne.  Thus  came 
the  emperor  and  empress,  with  the  blessing  of  the  pope 
newly  laid  on  their  heads. 


CUAPILTEPEC   AND   ITS   MEMORIES.  241 

VIII. 

The  Qnick  Ending  '^'^^  youthful  sovcfcigns-he  thirtj-two 
of  a  Dream  of  and  she  twcntv-four — were  welcomed  with 
^''''''''-  honors  at  Vera  Cruz,  May  28,  and  their 

progress  to  tlie  capital  was  heralded  by  popular  demon- 
strations. The  outlook  was  rosy  for  a  time.  The  streets 
were  improved ;  flowers,  trees,  and  fountains  were  placed 
in  the  Plaza  Mayor;  the  avenue  to  Chapultepec  was  l;iid 
out,  and  the  castle  decorated  and  occupied.  Large  loans 
were  contracted  in  London  to  pay  these  bills  and  maintain 
the  emperor's  hireling  troops — obligations  which  were  prop- 
erly repudiated  by  the  people  of  Mexico. 

The  emperor  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  mild  nat- 
ure, elegant  presence,  accomplished  mind,  and  winning 
manners;  a  stanch  imperialist  and  extreme  Catholic.  His 
fanatical  religious  devotion  was  exhibited,  by  the  way, 
when  be  walked  barefoot,  on  a  day  of  pilgrimage,  some 
two  miles  out  on  yonder  dusty  road  to  the  sbrine  of  the 
Virgin  of  Guadalupe — a  most  interesting  spot,  rich  in  rel- 
ics dear  to  native  Roman  Catholics. 

In  Maximilian's  court  the  forms  of  state  were  punctil- 
iously observed,  with  orders  of  nobility,  decorations,  and 
minute  ceremonials;  he  maintained  a  state  carriage  mod- 
elled after  the  style  of  Louis  XV.,  and  used  a  pretentious 
service  of  silver  that  is  now  cxliibited,  and  proves  to  be 
plated.  The  empress,  whose  charming  qualities  are  much 
dwelt  upon,  was  more  intense  and  brilliant  than  her  hus- 
band. In  the  great  crisis  of  their  lives  she  was  the  leader. 
Thenceforward  the  scenes  were  rapidly  shifted  in  our 
brief  tragedy.  The  Liberals  yielded  not  an  inch  in  the 
face  of  this  show  of  imperial  power,  though  Juarez  and  his 
cabinet  had  been  pushed  to  the  extreme  northern  frontier. 


242  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

The  beginning  of  the  end  came  when  Maximilian,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1865,  signed  the  "black  decree"  which  ordered  that 
all  republican  officers  taken  prisoners  in  battle  by  the  im- 
perialists should  be  summarily  shot  as  bandits.  There 
was  disaffection  among  the  local  leaders  of  the  Church 
party,  and  the  empire  really  rested  on  the  hired  Austrian, 
French,  and  Belgian  legions.  When  the  war  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Union  was  ended  in  the  United  States  our 
government  intimated  to  Napoleon  that  the  French  troops 
must  be  withdrawn  from  Mexico.  He  yielded  to  this 
pressure.  Carlotta  left  her  country-seat  at  Caernavaca  to 
plead  with  the  French  sovereign  for  continued  aid.  He 
was  obdurate ;  she  went  to  Rome ;  her  reason  failed,  and 
the  desperate  mission  ended  in  her  confinement  in  a  castle 
of  her  native  Belgium,  near  Brussels. 

The  emperor  resolved  to  abdicate,  and  started  for  the 
coast;  but  this  left  the  leaders  of  the  Church  party  in 
straits,  and  they  persuaded  him  to  return  to  the  capital. 
The  army  of  Miramon  had  been  driven  south  to  Qucre- 
taro  by  the  avenging  Liberal  uprising,  and  thither  Maxi- 
milian went  with  reinforcements.  The  Liberals  swarmed 
about  the  town,  which  the  emperor  called  "  a  mouse-trap," 
gained  entrance  through  the  treachery  of  one  of  Miraraon's 
officers — and  the  dream  of  an  empire  was  over. 

IX. 

The  Three  Graves  ^he  widow  of  General  Miramon  writes 
on  the  "Hill  of  graphically  of  the  last  hours  her  husband, 
the  Bells."  Maximilian,  and  General  Mejia  spent  in  the 

convent  of  the  Capuchinos.  She  was  with  them  three  days 
before  the  execution,  and  records  that  her  husband  said,  in 
the  course  of  a  conversation  with  his  adopted  sovereign ; 
"  Oh,  sire,  if  I  had  listened  to  my  wife's  advice  I  should 


CHAPULTEPEC  AND  ITS  MEMORIES.  243 

not  be  here  now."  "I  am  here  because  I  listened  to 
mine,"  rejoined  the  emperor — not  reproachfully,  but  as  if 
moved  to  state  the  exact  fact 

The  wife  went  to  San  Luis  Potosi  to  intercede  with 
Juarez  for  her  husband.  She  represents  the  president  as 
wavering,  when  his  minister  of  foreign  affairs  interposed 
with  the  stern  words,  "  It  is  to-day  or  never  that  you  will 
consolidate  the  peace  of  the  republic."  So  the  scale  fell 
against  the  imprisoned  imperialists. 

The  emperor's  confessor,  the  priest  Soria,  has  left  his 
record  of  the  rest.     Here  it  is : 

"  The  night  before  his  death  the  emperor  wrote  two  letters,  one  to 
tlie  pope  and  the  other  to  his  mother.  He  confided  both  to  me,  to- 
gether with  a  handkerchief  for  his  mother. 

•'  On  the  following  morning  I  accompanied  him  to  the  place  of  exe- 
cution. The  cortege  was  composed  of  three  wretched  coaches.  I 
got  into  the  first  \Yith  the  emperor,  while  Miramon  and  Mejia  occu- 
pied, with  their  confessors,  the  other  two. 

*'  Hardly  had  we  left  the  convent  when  I  was  surprised  to  see  Maxi- 
milian strike  his  breast,  saying :  '  I  have  put  eight  handkerchiefs  here 
to  keep  the  blood  from  staining  my  uniform.' 

"  All  the  rest  of  the  way  the  emperor  busied  himself  with  praying 
and  recommending  his  soul  to  God.  But  on  seeing  the  Hill  of  the 
Bells  lie  exclaimed:  'There  is  where  I  had  thought  to  hoist  the 
standard  of  victory,  and  there  is  where  I  am  going  to  die  !  Life  is  a 
play  :• 

"  And,  after  some  moments  of  silence,  he  added :  '  What  a  beauti- 
ful view  !     And  what  a  beautiful  day  to  die !' 

"  When  we  had  arrived  at  the  place  of  execution  it  was  found  diffi- 
cult to  open  the  door  of  the  coacii.  Then  Maximilian,  being  impa- 
tient, leaped  out  of  the  window,  knocking  off  his  hat.  He  handed 
me  tiie  crucifix,  embracing  me.  He  also  embraced  Miramon  and  Me- 
jia, distributed  some  gold  coins  among  tlic  soldiers  who  were  to 
shoot  him,  and  then,  in  a  strong  voice,  pronounced  in  Spanish  these 
words :  *  I  forgive  everybody,  and  I  ask  that  all  may  forgive  me, 
and  I  desire  that  my  blood,  which  is  going  to  be  slied,  may  be  for 


244  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

the  good  of  Mexico.  Long  live  Mexico!  Long  live  her  indepen- 
dence !' 

"  Immediately  he  placed  his  hand  on  his  breast,  indicating  the  spot 
for  the  soldiers  to  take  aim  at.  Then  the  drums  sounded,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  four  thousand  soldiers  assembled  it  was  proclaimed 
that  whoever  should  raise  his  voice  in  behalf  of  the  condemned  man 
would  be  made  to  suffer  the  same  penalty.  Not  a  murmur  was  heard 
among  the  immense  crowd  standing  behind  the  troops. 

"At  a  given  signal  the  three  platoons  fired.  Miramon  and  Mejia 
fell  dead  at  once,  but  Maximilian  did  not  die  at  the  first  discharge 
and  uttered  three  groans.     Then  they  gave  him  the  coup  de  graced 

That  this  extreme  penalty  was  exacted  with  regret,  there 
is  no  room  for  doubt.  Bloodshed  had  been  prolonged 
after  the  capture  of  the  emperor  until  the  exultant  joy  of 
the  people  was  turned  into  a  stern  demand  for  revenge. 
Among  those  who  pleaded  for  the  life  of  Maximilian  was 
the  Princess  Salm-Salm.  She  writes,  "  I  saw  the  president 
was  moved ;  he  had  tears  in  his  eyes,  but  he  assured  me 
in  a  low,  sad  voice,  *  I  am  grieved,  madame,  to  see  you  thus 
on  your  knees  before  me,  but  if  all  the  kings  and  queens 
of  Europe  were  in  your  place,  I  could  not  spare  that  life. 
It  is  not  I  who  take  it,  it  is  the  people  and  the  law ;  and 
if  I  should  not  do  its  will,  the  people  would  take  it,  and 
mine  also.' " 

The  last  words  of  Maximilian,  the  pathos  of  his  death 
so  bravely  met,  the  sad  fate  of  Carlotta,  and  the  memory 
of  the  natural  amiability  of  the  dead  prince,  all  unite  to 
save  his  memory  from  execration. 

The  Liberal  government  did  not  seriously  molest  the 
partisans  of  the  empire,  and  thus  the  way  was  opened 
for  the  peace  of  the  republic. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

OUR    SHARE    IN    MEXICO's    FUTURE. 
I. 

No  thorough  stiulont  of  the  actual 
^'"''  SaUook"^'°°'^  condition  of  Mexico— after  patiently  and 
exhaustively  weighing  her  environment 
and  her  population  through  personal  investigation,  and  by 
means  of  all  the  information  which  he  may  have  been  able 
to  jrather  from  well-informed  Mexicans,  from  American 
residents,  from  books,  from  published  statistics,  from  news- 
paper letters,  and  -out  of  the  reports  of  the  consular  repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States — will  regard  that  country 
as  likely  to  at  once,  or  soon,  take  her  place  among  the  rich, 
powerful,  homogeneous,  and  progressive  nations  of  the 
earth. 

He  will  look  npon  her  future  with  hope,  and  to  the 
powers  that  be  he  will  cheerfully  yield  a  ready  sympathy 
and  a  general  approval  that  must  often  be  qualified  with 
much  dissent  as  to  the  methods  employed  in  attaining  de- 
sirable ends;  but  he  cannot  accept  the  outlook  as  settled 
beyond  the  possibility  of  turmoil,  or  rest  secure  in  the  faith 
that  republican  institutions  and  liberal  ideas  arc  rooted  so 
deep  in  intelligent  and  incorruptible  citizenship  as  to  bo 
beyond  the  reach  of  disturbance,  or  even  of  a  general  over- 
turning such  as  Mexico  has  so  often  experienced. 

The  probabilities  fortunately  and  strongly  favor  a  steady 
improvement  along  all  desirable  avenues  of  national  growth. 


246  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

The  country  is  blessed  at  present  in  the  men  who  guide 
her  destinies,  but  on  the  succession  of  equally  honest  and 
competent  administrations  will  depend  the  perpetuation  of 
present  advantages.  The  requisites  for  insuring  this  are 
not  yet  fully  developed,  and  the  wielding  of  an  undesirably 
centralized  power  by  selfish  and  designing  men  might  pro- 
duce disastrous  results, 

II. 

The  reasons  for  such  a  general  judg- 

The  Sericms  Nataral  ,         jii-r^T  '  ^ 

DisadvantaKes.      "^^"^  ''^"^  ^^^^'^f'  tending  more  to  opti- 
mism than  to  a  gloomy  view  of  the  situa- 
tion, have  been  carefully  and,  we  hope,  clearly  presented  in 
the  pages  that  have  preceded  this  closing  chapter. 

Mexico  cannot  keep  pace  with  the  United  States  for 
various  reasons.  First  must  be  reckoned  her  geographical 
character.  The  immense  table-land  or  plateau,  two  thirds 
of  the  country,  is  not  readily  available  for  farming  opera- 
tions, owing  to  the  apparently  almost  universal  need  for 
irrigation,  the  scarcity  of  water,  the  uncertainty  that  ar- 
tificial substitutes  will  ever  suffice  to  remedy  the  lack  of 
great  water-courses  that  would  be  available  both  for  stimu- 
lating harvests  and  transporting  merchandise — for  the  coun- 
try can  boast  not  a  single  navigable  river.  The  profitable 
agricultural  specialties  of  the  hot  lands  will  not  make  up 
for  these  serious  deficiencies,  whose  existence  all  admit. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten,  too,  that  while  the  coast  lands 
are  desirable  for  their  productiveness,  they  are  hot,  and  to 
a  greater  or  less  degree  unhealthy,  and  that  outsiders  who 
may  embark  in  enterprises  in  tierra  caliente  will  do  so  at 
some  personal  risk. 

The  greater  portion  of  Mexico  is  deficient,  also,  in  forests 
and  in  coal  deposits.     No  want  could  bear  more  heavily 


OUR  SnARE   IN   MEXICO'S  FUTURE.  047 

and  dcpressingly  on  the  future  than  tliis  last,  wliich  is 
the  funilamcntal  rccjuircmont  of  manufacturing  as  it  is 
of  raih-oadinj^.  Cheap  coal,  too,  would  be  of  decided  as- 
sistance to  the  great  mining  interests  that  still  remain  the 
chief  advantage  of  the  country.  Fuel  for  l)ousehold  use 
is  not  a  necessity  in  Mexico,  to  be  sure ;  but  that  is  a 
lesser  issue.  The  essential  need  remains,  and  it  is  a  crying 
one.  It  is  claimed  now  that  good  coal  has  been  discov- 
ered in  northeastern  Mexico,  but  all  such  alleged  mines  re- 
main to  be  developed  and  worked  and  proved.  Tlie  rail- 
roads will  soon  put  this  coal  question  to  the  test. 

An  immediate  problem  that  confronts  the  capital,  but 
no  less  concerns  the  national  future,  is  the  drainage  of  the 
city  of  Mexico.  The  expenditure  of  perhaps  eight  millions 
of  dollars  to  this  end  is  a  necessity  that  cannot  be  much 
longer  put  off.  It  will  be  a  work  less  gigantic,  but  it  is 
to  be  hoped  more  efficacious,  than  the  old  Spanish  drain- 
age cut — a  ditch  200  feet  deep  and  3G0  wide,  that  extends 
twelve  miles,  and  can  be  seen  to  advantage  from  the  cars 
of  the  Mexican  Central  Railroad. 

Such  are  the  great  natural  disadvantages  from  wliich  tlie 
future  may  open  a  way  of  escape. 

Mexico  is  still  a  comparatively  undeveloped  country,  as 
well  as  only  a  partially  explored  one.  Of  the  regions  along 
the  Pacific  coast  much  remains  to  be  learned,  and  great  ex- 
panses of  territory  in  tjic  southern  portion  of  the  republic 
are  yet  unfamiliar,  the  uninvadcd  home  of  Indians  over 
whom  the  government  exercises  only  the  slenderest  control. 

III. 

In  a  country  where  the  mule  trail  or 
Nccc8«ltieB in  Boalness  .1         110        •  1    1  •    1  1  1  j.\ 

and  Politics.         ^"'^  ^'^  Spanish  liighway  have  been  the 

path  of   commerce,  traversed   in  about 
10 


248 


MEXICO   OF   TO-DAY. 


GIGANTIC  SPANISH  DKATNAGE 
CUT. 

equal  propoi'tions  by  the 
(lull  ass  and  the  indefati- 
gable Indian  burden-bearer, 
the  advent  of  the  railroad 
is  a  boon  great  beyond  ex- 
pression. The  ability  of  the  iron  horse  to  facilitate  busi- 
ness will  be  readily  appreciated,  but  he  cannot  do  every- 
thing for  this  people. 

Mexico  docs  not  have  a  fair  start  in  the  race  of  the  na- 
tions either  in  business  or  in  her  governmental  life.  This 
bit  of  old  Spain,  placed  side  by  side  with  the  prosperous 


OUR  SHARE   IN   MEXICO'S  FUTURE.  249 

\Ycstern  republic,  suffers  from  the  comparison.  Of  course 
she  docs !  Her  inheritances  of  customs,  methods,  beliefs, 
and  prejudices  that  belonged  to  the  Middle  Ages  arc  not 
easily  shaken  off.  The  people  of  the  United  States  started 
without  weights  of  this  kind,  while  Mexico  was  fettered 
hands,  feet,  and  conscience  with  Spanish  selfishness  and 
superstition.  Remember  that  these  people  only  achieved 
their  full  freedom  from  foreign  political  domination  when 
Maximilian  was  shot  in  1867.  Surely  since  then  remark- 
able advancement  may  be  discerned. 

But  the  task  that  remains  to  be  accomplished  before  the 
will  of  the  people  can  be  supreme  in  wise  and  stable  gov- 
ernment, easily  amenable  to  the  orderly  processes  of  the 
ballot,  is  great  and  difficult — nothing  less  than  the  educa- 
tion of  many  millions  of  Indians  in  books,  in  the  habit  of 
thinking,  and  in  independent  citizenship.  Under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  time  must  be  the  ponderous  chief 
factor  in  such  an  undertaking.  Nothing  can  hasten,  be- 
yond a  certain  point,  the  solution  of  this  problem. 

Then,  again,  the  land  of  the  country  will  have  to  be  at 
least  measurably  released  from  the  hands  of  about  10,000 
rich  landlords,  who  now  hold  it  practically  untaxed.  It  must 
be  opened  for  the  occupation  of  the  coming  middle  class, 
for  the  rights  of  the  millions  will  have  to  be  better  respected. 

Spain  not  only  stripped  the  country  of  its  wealth,  but 
she  crushed  out  every  agricultural  and  other  undertaking 
that  might  interfere  with  the  sale  here  of  any  Spanish  prod- 
uct. Mexico  has  not  fully  recovered  her  dwarfed  growth 
since  she  achieved  her  independence  from  old  country 
*'  protection." 

An  abominable  tax  system,  imposed  by  Spain,  and  cher- 
ished by  the  people  who  know  no  better  way,  which  liter- 
ally suffocates  the  business  of  the  nation,  will  have  to  be 


250  MEXICO  OF  TO-DAY. 

modified  before  very  wholesome  trade  conditions  can  be 
made  to  exist.  This  whole  question  is  being  earnestly  and 
widely  discussed  by  the  newspapers  and  public  men. 

The  fact  that  the  new  generation  are  learning  to  spealc 
English,  and  arc  more  ambitious  for  that  accomplishment 
than  in  the  mastery  of  French,  is  a  sign  of  the  times.  It 
would  not  be  reasonable  to  expect  that  Spanish,  now  uni- 
versally spoken,  Avill  be  superseded  by  our  language;  but 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  business  man  of  the  future  will 
be  able  to  conduct  his  negotiations  in  English,  while  that 
tongue  may  supplant  in  society  what  was  "  the  court  lan- 
guage" of  other  days.  Young  Mexico  is  going  to  make 
great  changes  in  life  here,  and  the  most  marked  advance 
will  be  in  the  direction  of  Americanizing;*  affairs.  One 
readily  falls  into  the  universal  habit,  by  the  way,  of  habit- 
ually referring  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  as 
"Americans,"  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  these  Aztecs 
are,  after  all,  the  real  original  product  of  this  continent, 

IV. 

-niei>eiicateTaskim-  _    ^^^''^  ^^^^^  arc  to  reform  these  human 
posed  ou  the  Liberal  influences  and  lift  off  these  burdens  that 
'"'^^'  depress  the  country ;  to  attack  and  solve 

imperative  questions  of  government,  graver  and  more  full 
of  peril  than  any  to  which  the  United  States  can  point  at 
this  time?  The  gigantic  labor  falls  directly  on  the  Liberal 
leaders  and  the  Liberal  party,  and  their  advance  along  the 
road  of  progress  must  be  so  regulated  that  no  ill-advised 
disturbance  of  the  existing  order  of  things  shall  cost  them 
their  lease  of  power. 

No  outside  investigator  can  give  these  men  a  single 
point  concerning  the  needs  of  Mexico  that  they  have  not 
carefully  considered  in  all  its  bearings,  if  not  already  at- 


OUR  SHARE  IN  MEXICO'S  FUTURE.      251 

tacked  in  the  hope  of  some  day  reacbing  sometliing  like  a 
remedy. 

Weigh  the  Liberal  position  for  a  moment.  Tlic  opposi- 
tion, which  is  variously  called  the  Church,  Clerical,  or  Con- 
servative party,  entertains  not  one  fundamental  doctrine  in 
common  with  the  men  who  control  affairs.  Tiic  Clericals 
do  not  even  acknowledge  the  validity  of  the  reform  con- 
stitution of  1857,  for  its  existence  is  the  bar  against  any 
resuscitation  of  the  ecclesiastical  power.  Here  is,  in  fact, 
a  passive  rebellion  against  the  federal  power,  whose  leaders 
only  await  the  oppc  rtunity  to  become  an  active  and  most 
disorganizing  force.  It  is,  indeed,  as  if  the  Southern  States 
of  the  United  Statos  declined  to  renew  their  allegiance  to 
the  government,  and  still  hoped  for  an  occasion  which 
would  enable  them  to  revive  the  days  of  slavery,  now  for- 
ever prohibited  in  the  redeemed  Union. 

This  is  why  the  Church  press  of  Mexico  was  a  stirrer-up 
of  strife,  a  fomcntcr  of  bitterness  towards  the  United  States 
during  the  passing  of  the  Cutting  episode.  The  Church 
party  have  not  forgotten  or  forgiven  our  conduct  during 
the  Maximilian  period.  It  is  to  the  everlasting  credit  of 
the  United  States  that,  when  invited  to  join  the  allied 
powers  in  18G1  in  enforcing  money  claims  against  Mexico 
— and  our  interest  was  a  large  one — we  replied  as  follows : 

"  It  is  true,  as  the  high  contracting  parties  assume,  that  the  United 
States  have,  on  their  part,  claims  to  urge  against  Mexico.  Upon  duo 
consideration,  however,  the  President  is  of  opinion  that  it  would  bo 
inexpedient  to  sceii  satisfaction  of  their  claims  at  this  time  through 
an  act  of  accession  to  the  convention.  Among  the  reasons  for  this 
decision  are:  First,  that  the  United  States,  so  far  as  it  is  practicable, 
prefer  to  adhere  to  a  traditional  policy,  recommended  to  them  by  the 
father  of  their  country  and  confirmed  by  a  happy  experience,  which 
forbids  them  from  making  alliances  with  foreign  nations ;  second, 
Mexico  being  a  neighbor  of  the  United  States  on  this  continent,  and 


252  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

possessing  a  system  of  government  similar  to  our  own  in  many  of  its 
important  features,  the  United  States  habitually  cherish  a  decided 
good-will  towards  that  republic,  and  a  lively  interest  in  its  security, 
prosperity,  and  welfare.  Animated  by  these  sentiments,  the  United 
States  do  not  feel  inclined  to  resort  to  forcible  remedies  for  their 
claims  at  the  present  moment,  when  the  government  of  Mexico  is 
deeply  disturbed  by  factions  within  and  war  with  foreign  nations. 
And,  of  course,  the  same  sentiments  render  them  still  more  disinclined 
to  allied  war  against  Mexico,  than  to  war  to  be  urged  against  her  by 
themselves  alone. 

"  The  undersigned  is  further  authorized  to  state  to  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries, for  the  information  of  Spain,  France,  and  Great  Britain,  that 
the  United  States  are  so  earnestly  anxious  for  the  safety  and  welfare 
of  the  republic  of  Mexico  that  they  have  already  empowered  their 
minister  residing  there  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  Mexican  repub- 
lic, conceding  to  it  some  material  aid  and  advantages,  which  it  is  to 
be  hoped  may  enable  that  republic  to  satisfy  the  just  claims  and  de- 
mands of  the  said  sovereigns,  and  so  avert  the  war  which  these  sov- 
ereigns have  agreed  among  each  other  to  levy  against  Mexico." 

V. 

"Wc  loved  our  neigLbor  in  1861,  at  the 

Our  Public  Relations   j     i  •    j       i  i-        i        • 

With  Mexico  dark  period  when  our  own  national  exis- 
tence was  imperilled,  and  shall  we  do  less 
now  that  we  are  knit  again  in  an  indissoluble  brotherhood 
of  states?  The  writer  is  profoundly  moved  to  believe  that 
every  possible  existing  consideration,  human  and  divine,  calls 
on  us  to  extend  the  hand  of  sympathy  across  the  southern 
border,  to  be  long-suffering,  considerate,  neighborly,  and 
just  towards  these  people  whose  cause  so  nearly  resembles 
our  own,  and  whose  peace  and  prosperity  will  be  vastly  to 
our  profit. 

It  cannot  be  possible  that  such  war  talk  as  has  recently 
drawn  attention  to  Texas  should  ever  awaken  any  serious 
disposition  among  the  masses  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  to  acquire  control  over  this  neighbor  republic.    Any 


OUR  SHARE  IX  MEXICO'S  FUTURE.  253 

such  absorption  would  give  almost  the  death-blow  to  repub- 
licanism in  the  Spanish-American  countries,  and  it  would 
forever  belie  and  shame  the  professions  of  a  great  power. 
We  shall  maintain  all  our  own  rights,  and  sec  that  the 
weaker  sister  has  all  of  hers ;  we  shall  protect  our  citizens, 
and  insist  on  the  recognition  of  all  proper  international 
courtesy;  but  we  shall  not  enact  the  bully,  or  play  into 
the  hands  of  the  reactionists  and  the  imperialists,  to  whom 
war  would  give  an  opportunity  that  peace  denies.  Tlieir 
success  in  overthrowing  the  Diaz  government  would  go  far 
towards  undoing  the  advance  which  the  nation  has  made, 
and  every  moral  and  material  interest  in  which  Americans 
have  a  part  would  suffer  thereby. 

We  shall  do  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  conditions  that 
exist  on  the  other  side  of  the  border.  The  federal  govern- 
ment of  Mexico  will  do  all  that  it  can  with  self-respect  to 
remedy  abuses  and  remove  just  cause  for  complaint  in  the 
treatment  of  any  citizen  of  the  United  States.  It  has  too 
much  at  stake  not  to  do  this.  But  it  is  always  likely  to 
be  seriously  hampered,  perhaps  at  critical  times.  The  fed- 
eral union  is  not  cemented  there  as  here.  Tlic  predomi- 
nating and  uneducated  Indian  population  are  mere  children 
in  affairs,  readily  moved  by  prejudice,  passion,  and  foolish- 
ness. It  would  be  an  easy  matter  for  isolated  and  fanatical 
priestly  influence  to  incite  sporadic  violence  against  Amer- 
ican business  men  or  missionaries,  and  then  the  press  of 
this  nation  would  blaze  with  fervid  appeals  for  instant  war. 
Ijct  one  such  case  occur,  and  the  first  loud,  unthinking, 
popular  cry  would  demand  that  Mexico  be  "wiped  out." 
It  is  the  possibility  of  such  an  episode  that  gives  to  reck- 
less speech  the  dangerous  quality  of  gunpowder,  and  may 
well  cause  anxiety  to  the  friends  of  both  countries.  As  a 
nation  we  cannot  look  back  with  pride  on  our  former  in- 


254  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

vasion  of  Mexico,  and  we  may  well  cultivate  moderation 
and  good  sense  in  the  future.  Certainly  we  are  amply  big 
enough  to  afford  the  dignity  of  such  an  attitude. 


VL 

The  possibility  of  temporary  irritation 
lior- 
der  Troubles. 


The  Likelihood  of  Bor-         i  ^      j  j.      ■^^    r     i-         i^ 

such  as  may  lead  to  ill  feeling  between 


the  adjoining  countries  will  always  exist 
at  the  border.  It  is  a  necessity  of  the  situation  that  the 
boundary-lines,  over  which  there  is  already  some  disagree- 
ment, shall  be  speedily  marked  anew  and  clearly,  and  that 
the  frontier  policing  arrangements  of  the  two  countries  be 
made  thorough,  efficient,  and  friendly,  with  as  much  leeway 
in  the  exchange  of  rascals  as  a  due  regard  for  the  full  pro- 
tection of  every  individual  right  will  permit. 

The  prevailing  conditions  are  at  least  peculiar.  On  both 
sides  of  the  Eio  Grande  Ptiver  arc  men  whose  occupation  is 
chiefly  smuggling,  and  whose  character  partakes  of  that 
restless,  adventurous,  if  not  deeply  criminal  type  which  is 
common  to  frontier  communities.  Such  persons  are  ever 
active  and  lawless  in  illegitimate  enterprises.  They  have 
regard  neither  to  the  public  good  nor  for  the  national  fame, 
and  it  is  very  evident  that  many  of  them  are  "just  spoil- 
ing for  a  fight."  Both  governments  need  to  pay  strict  at- 
tention to  such  irresponsible  characters,  and  they  can  do 
this  with  entire  good  feeling. 

During  the  first  term  of  General  Diaz  in  the  Mexican 
presidency  a  local  agreement  was  made  to  surrender  notori- 
ous criminals  without  regard  to  the  question  of  citizenship, 
and  the  then  governor  of  Texas  issued  a  proclamation 
threatening  to  remove  any  county  judge  who  should  fail 
to  comply  with  the  understanding.  This  agreement,  says 
a  prominent  Texan  stock-raiser  of  the  region  concerned. 


OUR  SUARE   LV  MEXICO'S  FUTURE.  255 

"made  property  and  person  as  secure  on  this  frontier  as 
anywhere,  and  the  best  of  feeling  prevailed  between  the 
people  on  tlie  opposite  sides  of  the  Rio  Grande." 

Since  then,  however,  the  United  States  government  has 
interfered  in  conspicuous  instances  with  this  free  trading 
of  criminals,  to  insist  that  all  the  formalities  set  up  to  pro- 
tect our  citizens  in  their  rights  and  persons  shall  be  ob- 
served. The  Texan  authority  quoted  above  thus  further 
illuminates  the  local  situation : 

"  The  Rio  Grande  at  Laredo  and  Eagle  Pass  is  not  deeper  or  wider 
than  the  Connecticut  Rirer  at  Springfiell,  Mass.,  and  you  can  imagine 
how  difficult  it  must  be  to  maintain  friendly  relations  between  the 
people  on  the  two  banks,  when  men  by  merely  fording  the  river  are 
protected  while  they  brag  of  their  crimes  with  impunity.  That  this 
frontier  has  been  inhabitable  at  all  during  the  past  two  years  has 
been  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  peace  ofliccrs  in  the  two  countries 
trading  criminals  with  each  other  sub  rosa,  so  that  an  evil-doer  has 
not  felt  sure  of  the  immunity  to  which  he  is  legally  entitled  according 
to  the  rulings  of  the  last  administration  at  Washington  (see  Senate 
Ex.  Doc.  No.  98,  Forty-eighth  Congress,  First  Session),  and  insisted  on 
by  the  present  Secretary  of  State.  Tlio  result  of  such  trading  has 
generally  been  substantial  justice." 

Of  course,  even  "substantial  justice,"  achieved  at  the 
expense  of  the  forms  of  law,  will  not  be  long  permitted, 
and  the  time  has  fully  arrived  when  the  public  interest 
demands  that  our  government  shall  regulate  its  border  re- 
lations in  a  more  thorough  way,  to  the  end  that  justice 
shall  be  fitly  administered  and  the  peace  of  the  nation  prop- 
erly cared  for. 

VII. 

AVhen  the  United  States  asserts   the 
Oar  Trade  Relationa.  ,,  , ,  i      ^  •       »»        ■,  ^ 

Monroe  doctrine,    and  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent assumes  to  direct  the  future  of  the  American  continent, 
10* 


256  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

we  ouobt  to  mean  more  than  a  warninc;  to  the  weaker  re- 
publics  against  the  formation  of  European  alliances.  The 
chief  value  of  such  an  attitude  lies  in  the  fact  that  this 
nation  thereby  morally  binds  itself  to  helpfulness  in  all 
those  material  interests  which  pertain  to  the  mutual  well- 
being  of  the  countries  concerned.  Let  us  perform  our 
duty  towards  an  immediate  neighbor,  and  find  profit  in  it. 
Care  for  American  interests — the  eighty  million  dollars  of 
capital  that  has  been  planted  in  Mexican  railroads,  as  well 
as  the  money  invested  in  mines  and  other  business  enter- 
prises, to  say  nothing  of  our  direct  trade  relations — would 
dictate  such  a  policy  as  the  only  desirable  one. 

The  stability  of  liberal  institutions  in  Mexico  will  be 
greatly  dependent  on  the  national  prosperity,  and  this  wo 
can  do  much  to  assure  by  reinforcing,  through  just  com- 
mercial legislation,  those  private  investors  whose  railroad 
lines  are  a  leading  factor  in  the  more  hopeful  outlook. 
One  may  wonder  at  the  courage  that  has  projected  the  iron 
liighways,  but  the  fact  of  their  existence  should  be  utilized 
to  open  a  wider  market  for  our  business  men  Avhose  agents 
— from  houses  in  the  Texas  cities  of  Galveston,  Houston, 
Austin,  San  Antonio,  Waco,  El  Paso,  and  Fort  Worth, 
and  firms  in  New  York,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco— are  already  actively  employed  in  the  Mexican  field. 

The  preliminaries  to  more  intimate  commercial  inter- 
course were  perfected  through  the  good  offices  of  General 
Grant,  v.lio  died  without  seeing  the  reciprocity  treaty — a 
creditable  act  of  constructive  statesmanship — accepted  by 
our  House  of  Representatives.  For  over  three  years  this 
instrument  has  pended  action  on  our  part,  and  from  time 
to  time,  at  the  request  of  this  government,  the  period  fur 
promulgation  of  the  laws  necessary  to  carry  the  treaty  into 
effect   has  been   extended   on  the   part  of  Mexico.     The 


OUR  SnARE  IX  MEXICO'S  FUTURE.  057 

United  States  Senate',  at  the  late  session  of  the  Forty-ninth 
Congress,  refused  to  accept  Senator  Sherman's  resolution 
extending  the  time  for  consideration  of  the  treaty,  witli  a 
view  to  having  it  called  up  at  the  next  session.  The  House, 
at  the  same  session,  accepted  a  report  adverse  to  the  treaty. 
The  conclusions  of  that  document,  whose  remarkable  state- 
ments have  been  answered  by  all  the  preceding  pages,  need 
not  be  here  repeated. 

By  this  treaty  the  United  States  agrees  to  admit  from 
Mexico  free  of  duty  twenty-eight  articles,  all  but  seven  of 
which  are  now  free  under  the  cxistiuir  tariff — chief  among 
them  leaf  tobacco,  sugar,  fruit,  and  molasses — a  total  re- 
mission of  duties  amounting  to  $575,803;  while  in  return 
for  this  Mexico  is  to  admit  duty  free  seventy-three  articles. 

The  principal  objectors  to  the  above  provisions  have  as- 
sumed that  injury  would  be  entailed  to  our  sugar  and  to- 
bacco interests.  Yet  the  fact  remains  that  with  all  her 
feared  natural  advantages,  sugar  costs  a  higher  price  in 
Mexico  than  in  the  United  States,  the  unrefined  article  sell- 
ing for  14  cents  and  above,  while  the  higher  grades  are 
largely  imported.  It  is  said  also  that  her  tobacco  cannot 
be  raised  and  offered  here  so  cheaply  as  the  same  crop  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States ;  but,  however  that  may  be,  it 
appears  plain  that  her  product  is  of  a  quality  that  would 
advantageously  supplement  our  tobacco,  and  not  rival  it. 

Still,  were  the  facts  less  favorable  to  the  treaty  at  these 
disputed  points,  it  would  yet  be  true  that  the  advantages 
likely  to  come  to  sixty  millions  of  people  through  the  open- 
ing of  our  doors  southward  must  constitute  its  sufficient 
claim  to  endorsement.  The  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number  must  bring  about  the  modification  of  what  is,  in 
practice,  a  demoralizing  system  of  out-door  relief  to  favored 
interests  and  classes.     Each  step  in  the  growth  of  Mexico 


258  MEXICO   OF  TO-DAY. 

will  be  to  our  direct  advantage — if  we  can  Lave  lier  trade. 
The  development  of  agriculture  means  the  purchase  of  mill- 
ions of  dollars'  worth  of  implements,  machiner}',  and  fer- 
tilizers ;  and  a  rise  in  the  scale  of  living  means  demand  for 
those  manufactured  articles  that  fill  our  factories  and  ware- 
houses to  overflowing.  Under  such  a  regime  it  could  not 
be  long  before  the  foreign  merchants  settled  in  Mexico 
would  be  compelled  to  buy  goods  in  St.  Louis,  Chicago, 
and  New  York.  All  the  tendencies  of  such  a  commercial 
intimacy  would  be  towards  a  better  understanding  and 
closer  fellowship  between  the  countries  that  are  geographi- 
cally united,  for  good  or  ill. 


INDEX. 


A. 

Academy  of  San  Carlos,  160. 
Acapiilco,  52.  53. 
Accident,  railroad,  IG'2. 
Ajjcnt,  a  confident,  183. 
Agriculture  dependent  upon  irrijjja- 

tion,  22;    primitive  methods  of, 

40,  4J,  4G. 
Aj:Cuador,  or  water-carrier,  95. 
Atjuardicnte,  lOS. 
Airini^,  a  solunni  and  statelv,  193, 

Alameda,  the,  8G;  Sunday  morning 

on  the,  197. 
Albuquerque  hotel,  8. 
Altars,  sacrificial.  2i). 
Altitude  an  intoxicant,  158. 
Alvarez,  29. 
Aml>iii<>n,    tho     yonn;^     Slc.xicau's 

chief,  109. 
American  colony,  tho,  10r>. 
American  minister,  the,  120. 
America's  first  iironzc  statue,  ]7(). 
Am|)hithcatrc  of  the  I'laza  del  'l'i>- 

ro3, 128. 
Aiuiexation,  idle  talk  of,  39. 
Amiihilalion,  invitiii;;,  9^. 
A[)ollo  of  Belvedere,  109. 
Army  employed   in   public  works, 

99;  ranks  largely  recruited  from 

criminals,  99. 
Art  among  the  Aztecs,  150;  in  idols, 

15;i,l.>l ;  Indian  leadership  in, ICH. 
Artist,  Indian,  1,07. 
Artist.'j,    paintings   of.    1()9 ;    rcpre- 

scnteil  at   Centennial.  H;9;    the 

paradise  of,  14C. 
11 


Associations,  the  ancient  ^Vztec,  227, 
228. 

Assumption,  statue  of  tho,  79. 

Avenue,  a  grand.  177. 

iVzteis,  art  among  the,  150;  cruel 
religion  of  the,  122;  elevation  of, 
211;  homes  of  the,  211;  manu- 
scripts and  paintings  burned,  150; 
royalty,  theories  about,  235  ;  the 
friend  of  tlie,  213;  thirteen  great 
gods  of  the,  15;}. 

B. 

Bands,  military,  99. 

Banking  institutions  managed  by 
Spaniards  and  (Jcrmans,  67. 

Baranda,  Joaquin,  35. 

Bargains  in  the  government  pawn- 
shop, 151. 

Barrooms  for  the  upper  classes,  106. 

l$asket-«,  jialm-lcaf,  156. 

Bayard,  .Secretary,  120,  121. 

Hear,  playing  tho,  205. 

Beauties  of  Spain,  duplication  of, 
20(5. 

Bof^gars,  95;  the  Indian,  185. 

"  Host  circles,"  192,19.3. 

Beverage,  character  and  manufac- 
ture of  national,  107. 

'•  Black  decree,"  the,  242. 

Blindness  oxcoc<lingly  common,  95. 

Bohemian  paradise,  182. 

Books,  rdil,  152. 

!$ooksiores,  152. 

IJordiT.  first  impressions  on  the,  10; 
troubles,  likoUbood  of,  254. 

Boston  as  a  linaiaial  centre,  2;  in- 
fluence of,  2. 


260 


INDEX. 


Bottles,  156. 

Boulevard,  the  grand,  227. 

Boiirboiiism,  an  obstructive,  210. 

Brandy  the  fasliionable  tipple,  108. 

Bravo,  General  Nicholas,  237. 

Bread,  190. 

Ikeakfast,  a,  185. 

Breakfast  at  six,  13. 

Bric-a-brac,  151. 

Brigandage,  relic  of,  100. 

Bull-fight,  genesis  of  the,  122, 123; 

the  performers  at  the,  129-134. 
Bull-ring  and  the  spectators,  127- 

129. 
Business,  cash,  190 ;  general  features 

of,  65 ;  how  taxed,  58, 59 ;  method 

of  doing,  66,  67 ;  necessities,  2i7- 

219 ;  opportunities,  07. 


Cabinet  of  Tresident  Diaz,  35;  ob- 
stacles surrounding,  37. 

Cadets,  the  dead,  237. 

Cane -juice,  aguardiente  distilled 
from,  108. 

Cannon,  captured,  238. 

Canons,  eroded,  161. 

Capital,  a  state,  126 ;  virtually  fire- 
proof, 109. 

Capitals,  27. 

Car-seats,  uncomfortable,  ICO, 

Carlotta,  the  empress,  2-11. 

Caste,  none  on  sidewalks,  97. 

Cathedrals,  tax  on  ore  for  building, 
14. 

Catholic  religion  allowed,  28. 

Cattle  business,  expert  view  of  the, 
7. 

Centurj'-plant,  pulque  made  from, 
107. 

Chamber  of  Deputies,  137, 138. 

Chambermaids,  male  Indian,  185. 

Chapultepec,  227,  230,  233,  235, 237, 
239  ;  grove  of,  75 ;  palace  of,  231 ; 
storming  of,  236, 237 ;  views  from, 
232. 

Character,  illumination  of  native, 
159;  illustration  of  Indian,  1.S7. 

Charles  IV.,  bronze  statue  of,  170. 


Cheering  signs,  143. 

Chicago  and  its  atmosphere,  3. 

Child-life  in  Toliica,  126, 127. 

Children,  training  of,  20. 

Church,  adroit  diplomacies  of  the, 
123 ;  confiscation  of  property  of 
the,  217;  condition  of,  219-221 ; 
opposition  of,  to  liberty,  216; 
party,  a  stronghold  of  the,  192; 
party,  downfall  of,  21;  party, 
head  of,  36 ;  part}',  leadership  of, 
36 ;  power  to-day,  219,  220 ;  press, 
bitterness  of,  251 ;  the  great  pa- 
tron of  art,  170. 

Church  building,  a  railroad  depot, 
162. 

Chulos,  the,  129. 

Cima,  125. 

Cities,  notable,  14. 

Citizenship,  habit  of,  to  be  cultivat- 
ed, 29. 

City  of  Mexico,  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
the,  81-86 ;  a  treasure-house,  147 ; 
ancient,  229;  cathedral,  76,  80; 
courts,  the  lower,  109;  destruc- 
tion and  rebuilding,  75 ;  drainage, 
247 ;  historic  associations,  70, 147 ; 
horse-cars,  159;  lighting  of  streets, 
109;  names  of  streets  landmarks 
of  historj',  149;  national  palace, 
85;  scenes  in  the  streets,  149; 
visitors  from  tlie  states,  148; 
Yolador  market,  186, 187  ;  Zocalo, 
or  pleasure-garden,  82. 

Civilization,  ancient,  17, 18. 

Class,  a  middle,  needed,  25 ;  ruling, 
of  Spanish  or  mixed  blood,  25. 

Class  legislation,  abolishment  of,  29. 

Classic  America,  75. 

Clericals,  the,  251. 

Climate,  limitations  of  the,  158. 

Coal,  lack  of,  246. 

Coal-fields,  the  Sabinus,  51. 

Coffee,  41. 

Color,  sense  of,  89. 

Columbus,  tribute  to,  178. 

Com|)liment,  a  strange,  85. 

Congress,  30;  in  session,  137,  138. 

Conquest,  the,  20,  21. 


INDEX. 


261 


Constitution  and  Congress,  28. 
Consuls    and    ministers,  gootl   and 

bad,  121. 
Continental  railroad  l)nildinp:,  1. 
Convent,  sugar-making  in,  lOG. 
Cook,  the,  189, 190. 
Cooking,  185 ;  liow  done,  100. 
Corn,  Indian,  41. 
Cortez,  -21,  02,  172,  214 ;  statue  of, 

181. 
Costume,  artistic,  186;  brilliant  na- 
tional, 811. 
Cotton-clotb,  carlv  mannfacturc  of, 

68. 
Cotton-mill,  the  Hercules,  69. 
Cotton-raising,  42. 
Country,  features  of  tlie,  14 ;  Mexico 

an  undeveloped,  247. 
Courts,  the  lower  of  the  City  of 

Mexico,  100. 
Courtship,  the  Castilian,  205,  206. 
Cowboy,  a  love-struck,  9. 
Criminals,  extradition  of,  254,255; 

put  in  ranks  of  army,  90. 
Crop  statistics,  41. 
Crops,  two  aiuiual,  45. 
Cruelties,  the  Spanish,  213,  214. 
Cuautla,  typical  town  of,  1(52, 1G3. 
Custom -bouse  systems,  individual 

states  set  up,  60. 
Custom-houses,  revenue  from,  GO. 
Customs,  Continental,  201. 
Customs  and  language,  change  of, 

13. 
"  Cypress  of  Jlontezuma,"  230. 

I). 

Danily,  the,  91. 

Dead,  walled  city  of  the,  175. 

Death-roll,  heavy,  98. 

Del)t,  attempt  to  convert  the  Eng- 
lish, 136-141. 

December  weather,  16. 

De(>artmcnt8,  subdivision  of  states 
into,  27. 

Depot,  a  church  building  a  railroad, 
162. 

Dialect,  Indi.in,  lOJ. 

Diaz,  Bernal.  62. 


Diaz,  Torfirio,  25,  37,  135, 195,  226, 
254;  elected  president,  31 ;  liis 
character,  32,  35,  38;  wailing  for 
jiopular  support,  211. 

Dinner,  a  good,  164 ;  a  turkey,  125. 

Diplomatic  service,  value  of  a 
trained,  120. 

Disadvantages,  serious,  246. 

Dishonesty  of  peon  freight-handlers, 
160. 

"Divy,"  a  private,  190. 

Dog-trot  of  the  Indian,  193.  ^ 

Domestic  economy,  188. 

Domestic  virtues,  127. 

Drainage,  bad,  98;  of  city  of  Mexi- 
co, 247. 

Drawbacks  to  combining  sight-see- 
ing and  eating,  185;  of  the  pres- 
ent time,  22. 

Drug-stores,  abundance  of,  163. 

Dublan,  Manuel,  35. 

Durct  and  Vifiez,  reform  leaders, 
144. 

Dutch  justice,  58. 

Dwelling-filaces  of  the  Indians,  92. 

E. 

Eastern  life,  similitude  to,  146. 

Ecclcsiasticism  and  liberty,  217. 

ICcoiiomy,  domestic,  188. 

Editor,  the  young,  6. 

Education,  govermental  promotioa 
of,  210;  ])opidar,  25. 

Educational  bill,  24. 

ICightecnth-ccntury  landlord,  183. 

AY  Monitor  lii'puhlicano,  117. 

El  Paso,  from  Kansas  City  to,  5. 

Elections  a  farce,  30. 

Electric  light,  103. 

ICnibroiilcry,  156. 

luiijiiro,  dream  of,  242. 

Engineers'  wages,  56. 

■English,  pride  in  speaking,  197. 

Ecpiality  of  citizens  established, 
29. 

Estate,  vi!<it  to  a  grand,  166. 

Estates,  <lemand  that  great,  be  sub- 
divided, 2.1. 

Etifjuette  of  the  promenade,  198. 


262 


INDEX. 


Example,  a  good,  202. 
Exotics,  the  rarest  of,  19G. 
J^xperience,  buying,  10. 
Exports,  G4. 
ExtratliLioii  of  criminals,  254,  255. 

F. 

Factories,  number  and  value  of,  CO. 

Fancy  and  reality,  203. 

Fares,  liackmen's,  110,  111. 

Farming,  primitive  methods  in,  40. 

Feather-work,  152. 

Federal  government  hampered,  253. 

Festivals,  the  spring  flower,  229. 

Fertility  of  country,  22,  23. 

Filigree- work,  151. 

Finances,  national,  59. 

Fiiianciei;  the,  119, 135. 

Fire  department,  a  quaint,  109,  110. 

Firemen,  iilol  of  the,  110. 

Flowers,  cost  of,  82;  profusion  of, 
1G2. 

Food  of  the  Indians,  92;  prices  of, 
191. 

Foreigners  the  victims  of  beggars 
and  fleas,  95. 

Forests,  want  of,  246. 

Franciscans  and  Dominicans,  con- 
vents of,  210. 

Free  pass,  how  obtained,  159. 

Freebooters  utilized,  100. 

Freedom  of  jircss,  28,  32. 

Freight  carried  bv  a  horse  railroad, 
112. 

Freighting,  6G. 

French  teaching  shown  in  paint- 
ings, 172. 

Fniit-pcddler,  the,  186. 

Fuel  for  household  use  not  a  neces- 
sitj',  247. 

Fueros,  military  and  ecclesiastical, 
suppressed,  29. 

Funerals  carried  bv  a  horse  railroad, 
113. 

Future,  a  hopeful,  245. 

G. 

Galera,  valley'  of,  14. 
Gardens,  the  floating,  228. 


Germans  the  merchant  princes,  05. 
Girls,  education  of,  202 ;  of  the  best 

type  intellectual,  203. 
Glazed  ware,  155. 
Gold  and  silver,  famous  workers  in, 

150. 
Goods  must  be  honest,  68 ;  selling 

and  freighting,  CG. 
Gossip,  the  aguador  a,  95. 
Government   and   clergy,  relations 

between,  220;  friendly  to  United 

States,  253 ;  grave  deficiencies  in 

popular,  30. 
Grant  and  the  American  invasion, 

235-23G. 
Graves,  the  three,  243. 
Guadalajara,  51. 
Guardian  of  the  great  front  door, 

109. 
Guatemotzin,  statue  of,  181;    tor- 
tured, 181. 
Guerrero,  79. 
Gonzalez,  Manuel,  his  wealth,  82  ; 

his  last  two  j-ears  as  president, 

135,  136. 

H. 

Haciendado,  the,  31;  on  horseback, 

90. 
Ilackman,  object-lesson  given  to  a, 

111. 
Hackmen,  paradise  where  they  arc 

regulated,  110;  sharp  supcrvisiciu 

of,  111. 
Hamlin.  Hannibal,  witnesses  a  bull- 
fight,' 123. 
Hedges,  prickly-pear,  14. 
Hi<les,  fermentation    of  pulque    in 

fresh,  107. 
"  Hill  of  tlie  Grasshopper,"  228. 
Hinojosa,  (icneral  I'edro,  35. 
Home  spirit,  201. 
Hooking  two  ways  at  the  same  time, 

ICO. 
Horse  railroad  that  carries  freight 

and  funerals,  112,  113. 
Horsemanshiji,  199. 
Hotel  de,  San  Diego,  1G4. 
Hotel  clerk,  leisurely  habits  of,  184. 


INDEX. 


2G3 


Hotel  pricca,  185. 

Hotels   ancient,    18i ;    Frenchmen 

and  Italians  conduct  the  large,  G7. 
House  of  Keprcsentativcs  30. 
Housekeeping,  I^>•*l. 
Houses,  jniprovoincnt   of  ^[exicnii. 

lO;  sun-dried  brick,  102;  vacant, 

IS'.l. 
Huiizilopochlli,  the  war -god,  163- 

153. 
Husband  marries  his  wife's  family, 

20'J. 


Idols,  art  in   the,  153,  15-1 ;    strolls 

among,  153. 
Illinois,  ncwnciis  of,  4. 
In>lei)endence,  develojiment  of,  '21; 

of  Mexican  states,  2'J ;  ten  years' 

war  for,  21, 
Indian  beggar,  185;  chambermaids, 

185;   character    illustrated,  187; 

dress  and  life,  91,  92  ;  family  trips, 

187;    leadership    in    higher   art, 

1C8;  venders,  187. 
Indians,  clothing  and  food  of,  25. 
Industrial  and  agricultural  interests, 

23. 
Inn,  a  model,  IGl. 

Imjuisition,  rise  and  fall  of,  215, 21G, 
Interoceanic  IJailroad,  study  of  life 

on,  159. 
Invasion,  Grant  and  the  American, 

235-237. 
Irrigation,    agriculture    dependent 

ujion,  22. 
Iturbide,  Colonel  Augustine,  79. 
Iztaccihuall,  71. 

J. 

Juarez,  President,  21,  25,  241;  liis 
<lream  of  a  Mexican  republic,  28 ; 
minister  of  justice  and  ecclesias- 
tical affairs,  29  ;  remarkable  mon- 
ument to,  170;  the  apostle  of 
liberty,  217. 

Journalism,  frontier,  G ;  Mexican, 
111. 

Journalist,  local,  159. 


Journals,    the    loading,    IIC ;    the 
weekly,  IKS. 

K. 

Kansas  City  to  El  Paso,  5-8. 
Kli'ptoniania,  an  example  of.  IGO. 

L. 

Labor,  cheapness  of,  G9. 

Laborers,  lazy  ways  of,  45. 

Lace  mantillas,  151. 

Lager,  108. 

Lake  Xocliiinilco,  229. 

Lakes  anil  city,  72. 

LjukI  owned  in  great  haciendas  or 

estates,  23. 
Landlord,  an   eighteenth -centurj', 

183. 
Lamllords,   non-resident,   23,  210; 

sellishncss  of  the  old  quarter,  189, 
Land-owners  and  peons,  119. 
Laocoiin,  1G9. 
Las  Casas,  913, 
'•  Las  Casas  protectiirg  the  Aztecs," 

171. 
Lawyers,  109. 
Lea(lers,  the  olil  social,  193. 
Leisurely  ways,  159, 
Lerdo,  Don  Sebastian,  193. 
Lesson    for   cities    in    the    United 

States,  105. 
Liberal  partv.  task  imposed  on,  250, 

251. 
Liberals,  37 ;  and  social  recognition, 

194  ;  bugaboo  of  the,  144. 
Life,  Indian  domestic,  92;   railroad 

stu<ly  of,  150, 
Lighting  of  streets  in  City  of  Mexi- 
co, 109. 
Limantaur,  Signor.  138. 
Liquor  question,  105. 
Ix>aling  under  a  collV'Otrcc,  158. 
I^jtteries  a  legacy  from  Spain,  97. 
lyottery-venders,  95. 
Love-making,  peculiar,  205. 

M. 

Maguey,  puhpic  made  from,  107. 
Mailing,  sharp  practice  in,  113. 


264 


INDEX. 


Manana  principle,  159. 
Manufactures,  ancient,  GS  ;    range 

of,  G9. 
Manufacturing,  want  of  water  and 

fuel  for,  09. 
Jlariscal,  Ignacio,  35. 
Market-garden,  need  of,  188. 
IMarkets,  old  and  new,  186. 
Marriage  allows  the  bride  to  smoke, 

206  ;"  and  after,  296 ;  legal,  206. 
Martyrs,  native,  225. 
Masters,  ancient  Mexican,  170,  171, 

172. 
Matador,  the,  129. 
Maximilian,  15;  abdication  of,  242; 
career  in  INIexico,  239-244;  down- 
fall of,  193;    execution  of,  244; 
his  enduring  work,  177 ;  record  of 
last  hours  of,  243,  244 ;  signs  the 
"black    decree,"    242;    the    last 
words  of,  243, 244. 
Meat  business,  monopoly  of  the,  190. 
Memorials,  a  grand  avenue  and  its, 

177. 
Merchant  princes,  Germans  the,  65. 
Mescal,  108. 

Methodist  missionaries,  24. 
Mexican   railroad,  scenery  on  line 

of,  52. 
•Mexicans,  arts   and    industries   of 
ancient,  19 ;  original  state  of,  19  ; 
vapor  baths  of  ancient,  19. 
Mexico,   an   undeveloped   country, 
247;   ancient  civilization  of,  17; 
glory  of  its  history  and  romance, 
17;  landing  of  Spaniards  in,  17; 
material  possibilities,  40 ;  support- 
ing power  of,  40 ;  vices  of,  105. 
Slilitia,  99. 

Military  academy,  231,232. 
Mills  and  their  operatives,  68  ;  gov- 
ernment bonus  to,  69. 
Mines,  forfeiture  of,  64. 
Mining,   past   and   present,  62-64; 
companies,  foreign,  63 ;  laws,  63. 
INIiramon,  the  widow  of  General,  242. 
Miron,  Diaz,  139-141,  144. 
Mirrors,  demand  for,  1G8. 
Misconceptions,  international,  106. 


Misfits,  a  melancholy  procession  of, 

183. 
Missionary,  an  American,  222 ;  mur- 
der of  a,  225. 

Missionary    statistics,    223 ;    work, 
opening  for,  221. 

Missionaries,  disappointed,  182. 

Money-changer,  IMexican,  10. 

INIontezuma's  present  to  Cortez,  62. 

Monument,  remarkable,  175. 

IMonuraents,  178, 179. 

Morelos,  a  day's  journey  into,  159, 
160. 

Morelos,  the  patriot,  216. 

Morgan,  departure  of  Blinistcr,  120. 

Morning,  tropical  winter,  165. 

IMound-builders,  18. 

Mountain  views,  161. 

jNIozos,  185. 

IMugwumps,  appearance  of  the,  135. 

Murillos,  1G9. 

Museum,  national,  85, 150. 

Music  and  art,  love  of,  152. 

N. 

National  outlook,  perils  in,  245-247. 

Native  character  illuminated,  159. 

Natural  history  and  prejudices  of 
"  society,"  193. 

Necessities  in  business,  247-249 ;  in 
politics,  249-251. 

Negroes  and  Indians  compared,  186. 

Nevado  de  Toluca,  volcano  of,  125, 
126. 

New  England,  reminder  of,  162. 

Newspapers,  American  daily,  118  ; 
how  handled,  115;  great  number 
of,  116;  liberal  dailies,  117;  local, 
5;  no  high-pressure  in  work  on, 
114;  of  the  Church  party,  117. 

"  No  trust,"  190. 

Northern  ways,  Nature's  rebuke  to, 

'"'■  O. 

Observer,  a  slightly  unpleasant,  185, 

186. 
Odors,  all-pervasive,  97. 
Opera,  between  the  acts  at  the,  196 ; 

society  at  the,  195, 196. 


INDEX. 


2G5 


Operatives  in  mills,  GO. 

Opinion,  public,  31. 

Opposition,  young  IcaJcra  of  tlie, 
144. 

Oratory,  138. 

Oriler,'piiblic,  108. 

Organization,  need  of,  among  In- 
dians, IS". 

r. 

Pace,  a  funereal,  199. 
racheco,  CJencral  Carlos,  3,"). 
Painters,  creditable  work  of  native, 

170. 
Paintings  by  the  masters,  109,  170; 

French  teaching  shown  in,  172; 

national  development  in,  lii^. 
Palace  of  city  of  Mexico,  8."),  80. 
Panteon  of  San  Pcruando,  175. 
Paradise,  a   Ikdiemian,  182;  where 

hackmcH  are  regnlated,  110. 
Park,  the  great.  230,  231. 
Pasco  de  la  Kefurma,  grand  airing 

on  the,  198, 190;  spaces  for  mon- 
uments on,  177-179. 
Pass,  how  a  free,  was  obtained,  1 50. 
Pawn-shop,  government,  85;  mir- 
rors in,  108. 
Peasant  class,  possibilities  of,  70. 
Peasantry,  native,  or  peons,  14;  the 

reserve  power,  24. 
Peculations  revealed,  190. 
Penny  press,  118. 
Peons,  14;  dishonesty  of,  ICO. 
People,  homes  of  the  common,  211; 

life  of  the,  14G;  mostly  Indians, 

'24. 
Perils  in  national  outlook,  245-247. 
Picadores,  the,  120. 
Picture-writing  of  the  Aztecs,  150. 
Pilferer,  a  saintly-looking,  160. 
Pillow,  (ieneral,  237. 
Plan  to  erect  an  em[)ire,  193. 
Plaza  JIayor,  the,  76,  98,  90;   of 

Cuantla,  103  ;    of   Toluca,  scene 

on,  127. 
Plough,  Illinois  company's,  41. 
Ploii;;|iiiig  with  a  sharjiencd  stick, 

4ii. 


Police  force,  108. 

Policy  of  leading  journals,  116. 

Political  progress,  144, 145. 

Politics,  necessities  in,  249-251  ; 
summary  of,  35. 

Popocatapcll,  101 ;  charm  of,  71,  72. 

Population  and  area  of  states,  27, 28. 

Pork  market,  control  of,  191. 

Porter,  the,  189. 

Porters,  Indians  trained,  103. 

Positive  people,  182. 

Post-otlice,  the,  113. 

I'ostage,  letter,  113. 

"  Pot-boilers,"  108. 

Pottery,  155, 156. 

Present  time,  drawbacks  of  the,  22. 

President,  how  chosen,  30 ;  the  mili- 
tary head  of  affairs,  31. 

Press,  an  unhurried,  111;  free<lom 
of,  28 ;  the  weekly,  118. 

Prices  of  food,  191. 

Principle,  the  mafiana,  159. 

Printers'  wages,  110. 

Procession  of  inislits,  183. 

Products  of  the  country,  45. 

Progress,  40. 

Protestant  missions,  222. 

Puhjue,  character  and  manufacture 
of,  107;  shops,  how  regidated, 
105-106;  the  national  tipi)le,  14. 

Q. 

Quaretero  resembles  Havana,  15; 
Ma.vimiliaa  shot  there,  13. 

It 

Rainy  season,  45. 

Railroad    accident,  162;    building, 

continental,  1 ;  cars,  classes  of,  10; 

grades,  cost  of  constructing,  66; 

system,  review  of,  48-57. 
ILailroading,  expenses  of,  56;  novel 

features  in,  55. 
Railroads,  development  of,  46 ;  gov- 
ernment  concessions   to,  40,  47; 

messengers  of  enlightenment,  26; 

pay  of  employees,  50. 
Reasoning,  extraorilinary,  183. 
Reciprocity,  advantages  of,  04, 05. 


266 


INDEX. 


Reform  leaders  Duret  ami  Yificz, 
144, 

"Reform  within  the  party,"  143. 

Relations  with  Mexico,  our  i)ul)lie, 
252. 

Religious  liberty,  advance  in.  224. 

Religious  orders,  inilucnce  of,  217. 

Rents,  188. 

Republicanism,  30. 

Restaurants,  a  tour  of  the,  185, 18G. 

Revenue  from  custom-houses,  GO. 

Revolution  a  necessity,  217 ;  relig- 
ious, 211,  212 ;  review  of  the 
bloodless,  142-143. 

Ride  in  a  canvas-covered  car,  1G6. 

Rio  Hondo,  elevation  of,  124. 

Road,  the  old,  160, 

Rome  of  the  New  World,  149. 

Room-rent,  185, 

Royalty,  theories  about  Aztec,  235. 

Rubio,  Manuel  Romero,  35. 

Kurales,  or  mounted  patrols,  100, 
101 ;  relic  of  brigandage,  100. 


San  Carlos,  academy  of,  1G9. 

San  Fernando,  Pantcon  of,  175. 

Santa  Anna,  79. 

Scene,  a  beautiful,  1G2. 

Scenery  along  the  line  of  the  Na- 
tional railroad,  123. 

Schools,  agricultural,  210;  indus- 
trial, 210;  of  Methodist  mission- 
aries, 24;  ten  thousand  public, 
210, 

Sculpture  of  ancient  Mexicans,  19. 

Senate,  30. 

Senoritas  and  their  charms,  202, 
203;  fancy  and  reality,  203, 

Sequestration  of  Church  property, 
results  of,  218,  219, 

Serapcs,  151. 

"  Serenos,"  108, 109. 

Servant  question,  189,  190. 

Servants,  accumulation  of,  191;  di- 
viding lines  among,  189,  190. 

Sewing-machine  agent,  a  Yankee, 
1G3. 

Shoppers,  98. 


Shops,  G8. 

Sight,  a  glorious,  169. 

Silver,  supply  of,  63, 

Slavery,  sj^stem  of  essential,  119. 

Smells,  acquired  taste  for  bad,  98; 
five-hundred-years-old,  98, 

Smugglers  on  the  Rio  (irande,  254. 

Smuggling,  9;  great  frontier  in- 
vites, G4, 

Social  decadence  and  growth,  197. 

Social  growth,  24, 

"  Society "  a  stronghold  of  the 
Church  party,  192;  and  the  peo- 
ple, 210 ;  its  Continental  customs, 
201;  natural  history  and  preju- 
dices, 193. 

Soldiers,  uniforms  of,  99, 

Sombrero,  the  felt,  90, 

Spaniards,  landing  of,  17. 

S[)ectators  at  the  bull-fight,  128. 

Stamp  tax,  60. 

Stare,  a  general,  19G. 

State  levies  and  the  combined  bur- 
den, 60. 

States  and  their  capitals,  27. 

Statesmen,  disadvantages  of,  22 ; 
the  work  that  confronts,  143. 

Statistics,  guess-work  in,  64. 

Statue,  America's  first  bronze,  176. 

Stephens,  the  martyr,  225. 

Stores,  Frenchmen  keep  the  import- 
ant retail,  67. 

Straw  pictures,  152. 

Street,  no  law  of,  96. 

Stronghold  of  the  Church  party, 
192. 

Students,  victory  of  the,  139-141. 

Sugar-growing,  42. 

Sugar-making  in  a  convent,  166. 

Sugar-mill,  a,  16G. 

Suggestions,  ICO. 

Sun(lav  a  dav  of  rest  and  recreation, 
127.' 

Sunday  morning  in  the  Alameda, 
197. 

Supervision  of  hackmen,  sharp,  111. 


T. 


Table-land,  22. 


INDEX. 


207 


Table-tops,  artistic,  1jC>. 

Tax,  the  ftdera'.  Go. 

I'axatioii,  necessity  for  lifiin<:j  yoke 
of,  Gl ;  of  stores  ami  houses,  08; 
system  of,  58, 50. 

Taxes,  state,  GO;  town,  Gl. 

Teleijraphs,  1(X\, 

TcK-piiones,  lU!,  KU. 

Tenements,  improved,  Oi 

Teiiochtitlan  aikl  the  tloating  gar- 
dens, -JiH,  -230. 

Teoyaomi<ini,  153. 

Tecjiiila  made  from  ihe  maguey 
plant,  KIS. 

Texcoco,  cacii]ne  of,  tortured,  181. 

Texcoco,  Lake,  75. 

"The  proper  thing,"  IJK). 

Theatrical  venture  in  Texas,  8. 

Threshing,  40. 

Tobacco,  41  ;  indigenous,  ■12. 

Toltecs,  18;  religious  worship  of 
the,  1>2. 

Toluc.1,  city  of,  12G;  market  build- 
ing, 18G;  ride  to,  124,  1*25. 

Tortillas,  41. 

Tourists,  a  stamping-ground  for, 
14G;  great  influx  of,  118. 

Trade  belongs  to  United  States,  64, 
G5;  prohibition  of,  Gl  ;  relations 
with  United  States,  25G-258;  re- 
tail, facts  about,  G7. 

Travrll.T*,  distinction  among,  10. 

Tre.isure-house,  the  citv  of  Mexico 
a,  147. 

Treaty,  advantages  of,  25G-258;  ob- 
jectors to,  257. 

Trojiical  winter  morning,  1G5. 

Tropics,  plunging  into  the,  li!l. 

Tula,  EDcicnt  Toltec  capital,  15. 


Union  of  Church  and  State,  ancient, 

212. 

V. 


Valley  of  Mexico,  71, 72. 


Vapor  baths  ofarKtent  Mexicans,  19. 
Vases,  mammoth,  155,  15G. 
Venders,  Imlian,  1H7,  188, 
Viceroys,  rule  of  the,  21. 
Vices,  105. 

Virgin,  shrine  of,  at  (Juadaliipe,  241. 
Volcano  of  Nevailo  de  Tohica,  125, 
121^ 

W. 

Wages  af  operatives  and  laborers, 

Waiters,  IS,"). 

War,  the  jNIexican,  2So-287. 

Watchword  of  heathendom,  154. 

Water-carriers,  95. 

Water-coolers,  15G. 

Wax-figures,  152. 

Ways,  kisurely,  150. 

Weather,  the,  80. 

Wedding  parties,  a  custom  to  pho- 
tograph, 209. 

Weddings,  church,  200. 

West,  random  notes  of  the,  4. 

Wheat  crop,  41. 

White  House,  the,  232. 

Widow,  an  enterprising,  101. 

Wives,  American,  197. 

Woman  in  White,  IGl. 

Women,  early  maturity  of,  204;  ex- 
tremes of  action  in  regard  to,  204, 
205;  hold  of  the  Church  on,  3G; 
Indian,  204. 

Wood-carving,  15G. 

Wood,  great  cost  of,  G9. 

Wooiis,  native,  150,  157. 

Y. 

■^'ankee  sewing-machine  agent,  103. 
Youth,  the  gilded,  198,  210. 

Z, 

Zacatecas.  a  mining  region,  14. 
Zones,  the  three,  42. 
Zumarriiga,  bishop,  20. 


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Calf,  $8  50.  Sold  only  in  Sets.  Original  Library  Edition,  2 
vols.,  Svo,  Cloth,  $7  OO'. 

HILDRETH'S  UNITED  STATES.  History  of  the  United 
States.  First  Series  :  From  the  Discovery  of  the  Continent 
to  the  Organization  of  the  Government  under  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution.  Second  Series  :  From  the  Adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  to  the  End  of  the  Sixteenth  Congress.  By  Ricii- 
AHD  Hildreth.  Popular  Edition,  6  vols.,  in  a  Box,  Svo, 
Cloth,  with  Paper  Labels,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $12  00; 
Sheep,  $15  00;  Half  Calf,  $25  50.     Sold  only  in  Sets. 

LODGE'S  ENGLISH  COLONIES  IN  AMERICA.  English 
Colonies  in  America.  A  Short  History  of  the  English  Colonies 
jn  America.  By  Henry  Cabot  Lodgh.  New  and  ReviseJ 
Edition.     Svo,  Half  Leather,  $3  00. 


Valuable  Works  for  Fuhlic  and  Private  Libraries.  3 

STOEMONTIIS  ENGLISH  DICTIOXAKY.  A  Dictionary  of 
the  English  Language,  I'ronoiincing,  Etymological,  and  Ex- 
planatory: embracing  Scientific  and  other  Terms,  Numerous 
Familiar  Terms,  and  a  Cojiious  Selection  of  Old  English  Words. 
By  the  Rev.  Jamks  Stoumonth.  The  Tronunciation  Keviscd 
by  the  llcv.  V.  II.  riiixi',  M.A.  Imperial  Svo,  Cloth,  $G  00; 
lialf  Roan,  $7  00;  Full  Sheep,  $7  50.     (New  Edition.) 

PARTON'S  CARICATURE.  Caricature  and  Other  Comic  Art, 
in  All  Times  and  Many  Lands.  By  Jamks  rAitTox.  203  Illus- 
trations. 8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $5  00;  Half 
Calf,  $7  25. 

DU  CIIAILLU'S  LAND  OF  THE  JIIDNIGIIT  SUN.  Sum- 
mer and  Winter  Journeys  in  Sweden,  Norway,  Lajdand,  and 
Northern  Finland.  By  Tadl  B.  Dn  CiiAir-i.u.  Illustrated. 
2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50  ;   Half  Calf,  $12  00. 

LOSSING'S  CYCLOPEDIA  OF  UNITED  STATES  HISTO- 
RY. From  the  Aboriginal  Period  to  1S7G.  By  B.  J.  Los- 
sing,  LL.D.  Hhistrated  by  2  Steel  Portraits  and  over  1000 
Engravings.  2  vols..  Royal 'Svo,  Cloth,  $10  00  ;  Sheep,  S12  00; 
Half  Jlorocco,  $15  00.     {Sold  bj/  Sulscrijttion  only.) 

LOSSING'S  FIELD-BOOK  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.  Pic- 
torial Field  -  Book  of  the  Revolution;  or,  Illustralions  by  I'en 
and  Pencil  of  the  History,  Biograj)hy,  Scenery,  Relics,  and  Tra- 
ditions of  the  War  for  Independence.  By  Bknson  J.  Lossinu. 
2  vols.,  Svo,  Cloth,  $U  00;  Sheep  or  Roa'n,  $15  00;  Half  Calf, 
$18  00. 

LOSSING'S  FIEM)-BOOK  OF  THE  WAR  OF  ]811\  Pic- 
torial Ficld-Book  of  the  War  of  1812;  or,  Ilhisirations  by  Pen 
and  Pencil  of  the  History,  Biogrnpliy,  Scenery,  Relics,  and  Tra- 
ditions of  the  last  \Var  fur  American  Independence.  By  BtCN- 
80N  J.  LossiNO.  Willi  several  hundred  Engravings.  1083 
pages,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  00;  Sheep  or  Roan,  $8  50;  Half  Calf, 
$10  00. 

MULLERS  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  RECENT  TIMES 
(181C-1875).  With  Sjiecial  Reference  to  Germany,  By  Will- 
iam Miji-LKR.  Translated,  with  an  Ajipcndix  covering  the 
Period  from  187G  to  1881,  by  the  Rev.  John  P.  Pier i  us,  Ph.D. 
12mo,  Cloth,  $3  00. 


i  Valuable  TVorJcs  for  Fuhlic  and  Private  Libraries. 

TREVELYAN'S  LIFE  OF  MACAULAY.  The  Life  and  Let- 
ters of  Lord  Macaulay.  By  his  Nephew,  G.  Otto  Trevelyan, 
M.P.  With  Portrait  on  Steel.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Uncut 
Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $5  00;  Sheep,  $C,  00;  Half  Calf,  $9  50. 
Popular  Edition,  2  vols,  in  one,  12mo,  Cloth,  $1  75. 

TREVELYAN'S  LIFE  OF  FOX.  The  Early  History  of  Charles 
James  Fox.  By  George  Otto  Treveltan.  8vo,  Cloth,  Un- 
cut Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $2  50 ;  Half  Calf,  $4  75. 

WRITINGS  AND  SPEECHES  OF  SAMUEL  J.  TILDEN. 
Edited  by  John  Bigelow.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Gilt  Tops  and 
Uncut  Edges,  $6  00  per  set. 

GENERAL  DIX'S  MExAlOIRS.  Memoirs  of  John  Adams  Dix. 
Compiled  by  his  Son,  Morgan  Dix.  With  Five  Steel-plate 
Portraits.     2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  Gilt  Tops  and   Uncut   Edges, 

$5  00. 

HUNT'S  MEMOIR  OF  MRS.  LIVINGSTON.  A  Memoir  of 
Mrs.  Edward  Livingston.  With  Letters  hitherto  Unpublished. 
By  Louise  Livingston  Hunt.     12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 

GEORGE  ELIOT'S  LIFE.  George  Eliot's  Life,  Related  in  her 
Letters  and  Joinnals.  Arranged  and  Edited  by  her  Hus- 
band, J.  W.  Cross.  Portraits  and  Ilhjstrations.  In  Three 
Volumes.  12mo,  Cloth,  $3  75.  New  Edition,  with  Fresh  Mat- 
ter. (Uniform  with  "Harper's  Library  Edition"  of  George 
Eliot's  Works.) 

PEARSS  FALL  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.  The  Fall  of  Con- 
stantinople. Being  the  Story  of  the  Fourth  Crusade.  By 
Edwin  Pears,  LL.B.     8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

RANKE'S  UNIVERSAL  HISTORY.  The  Oldest  Historical 
Group  of  Nations  and  the  Greeks.  By  Leopold  von  Ranke. 
Edited  by  G.  W.  Protiiero,  Fellow  and  Tutor  of  King's  Col- 
lege, Cambridge.      Vol.  I.     8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH.  A 
Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  the  Rev.  Sydney  Smith. 
Based  on  Family  Documents  and  the  Recollections  of  Personal 
Friends.  By  Stuart  J.  Reid.  With  Steel-plate  Portrait  and 
Illustrations.'     8vo,  Cloth,  $3  00. 


I'aluable  Works  for  Public  and  I'rivate  Librarita.  5 

STANLEY'S  TIIROUGII  THE  DARK  CONTINENT.  Through 
tlie  Dark  Continent ;  or,  The  Souiccs  of  the  Nile,  Around  the 
Great  Lakes  of  Equatorial  Africa,  and  Down  the  Livinpstone 
Kiver  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  14'J  llliistraiii)ns  and  10  Maps. 
By  II.  M.  Stanlkt.  2  vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  §10  00;  Sliecp, 
$12  GO;    Half  Morocco,  $15  00. 

STANLEY'S  CONGO.  The  Congo  and  the  Founding  of  its 
Free  State,  n  Story  of  Work  and  Exploration.  With  over  One 
Hundred  Full-page  and  smaller  Illustrations,  Two  Large  Maps, 
and  several  smaller  ones.  By  H.  M.  Stanley.  2  vols.,  8vo, 
Cloth,  $10  00;  Sheep,  $12  00;   Half  Morocco,  $15  00. 

GREEN'S  ENGLISH  PEOPLE.  History  of  the  English  Peo- 
ple. Bv  John  KiCHAUD  Gkken,  M.A.  With  Maps.  4  vols., 
8vo,  Clo'th,  $10  00;  Sheep,  $12  CO;  Half  Calf,  $19  00. 

GREEN'S  MAKING  OF  ENGLAND.  The  IMaking  of  Eng- 
land. By  John  Kiciiai!D  Gkken.  With  Maps.  8vo,  Cloth, 
$2  50 ;  Sheep,  $3  00 ;  Half  Calf,  $3  73. 

G  REENS  CONQUEST  OF  ENGLAND.  The  Conquest  of  Eng- 
land.  By  John  Richard  Green.  With  Maps.  8vo,  Cloth, 
$2  50;  Sheep,  $3  00;  Half  Calf,  $3  7.",. 

BAKER'S  ISMAILIA  :  a  Narrative  of  the  Expedition  to  Central 
Africa  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Slave-trade,  organized  by  Is- 
mnil,  Khedive  of  Egypt.  By  Sir  Samuel  AV.  Baker.  With 
Maps,  Portraits,  and  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00;  Half 
Calf,  $7  25. 

ENGLISH  MEN  OF  LETTERS.     Edited  by  John  Moulet. 
The  following  volumes  are  now  ready.     Others  will  follow: 

Johnson.  Hy  U  Stephen. — fiiniiov.  Ry  J.  C.  Morison. — -Scott.  I!y  U.  II. 
Iluttoii.— SiiEi-i-EV.  15y  J.  A.  Syinoiid.s.— CoLDPMiTii.  I'.y  W.  IJIack.— IIi'Mk. 
Ily  rrofcsBor  Hu.ilcy. — Dkkoe.  r.y  \V.  Minto. — Uck.ns.  liy  I'rincipal  Sliairp. 
— SrKN.stR.  l!y  K.  W.  Cliurcli. — Thackkray.  By  A.  Trollope. — Dukke.  liy 
J.  Worley.— Milton.  Hy  .\I.  r.itlison. — SofTHEY.  By  E.  Dowden. — C'lurcER. 
Hy  A.  W.  Ward.— niNVAN.      Hy  J   A.  Froiidc  — Cowi-er.      Hy  G.  Smith.— 

Poi-K.     By  Ij.  Stephen.  —  UvKON.     By  J.  Ni,  hols.  —  I>ockb.     By  T.  Fowler 

WoKDSwoKTH.  By  K.  W.  11.  Slyers  —  IIawtmoknk.  By  Henry  Juincs,  Jr. — 
I)Ryi)KN.  By  G.  Saiiil.sbury.  — I.AMJOR.  By  S.  Colvin.  —  Oe  Qiincky.  By  D. 
Ma.s.s<in.  — I,.»Mii.  By  A.  Ain(,'er.  —  Bksti.kv.  By  K.  C.  Jebb. —  Dicke-i-s.  By 
A.W.Ward — (Jkay.  By  K.  W.  (Josse. — Swift,  By  I..  Stephen. — Stkrnk.  By 
H.  D.  Traill.  —  .\lA<;Ari.AY.  By  J.  C.  Morison.  —  Fikldinh.  By  A.  l)ob.son.— 
SuERinAN.  By  Mrs.  Oil  pliant. — AnuisoN.  By  W.  J.  Coiirlhope.  —  Baco.v.  By 
R  W.  Church.— CoLKKiDOK.  By  H.  U.Traill. — Sir  Pniui-  Sid.nky.  By  J  A 
Bjrtnonils.     12mo,  Cloth,  75  cents  per  volume. 


6  Valuable  Works  for  Public  and  Frivate  Libraries. 

COLERIDGE'S  WORKS.  The  Complete  Works  of  Samuel  Tny 
lor  Coleridge.  With  an  Introductory  Essay  upon  his  Philosoph- 
ical and  Tlieological  Opinions.  Edited  by  Professor  W.  G.  T. 
Shedd.  With  Steel  Portrait,  and  an  Index.  7  vols.,  12ina 
Cloth,  $2  00  per  volume  ;  ,^12  00  per  set;  Half  Calf,  $24  25. 

EEBER'S  MEDIEVAL  ART.  History  of  Mediajval  Art.  By 
Dr.  Fkanz  von  Reisek.  Translated  and  Augmented  by  Joscjil! 
Thacher  Clarke.  With  422  Illustrations,  and  a  Glossary  ol 
Technical  Terms.     8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00. 

REBER'S  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  ART.  History  of  Ancient 
Art.  By  Dr.  Franz  von  Rehek.  Revised  by  the  Author. 
Translated  and  Augmented  by  Joseph  Thacher  Clarke.  With 
310  Illustrations  and  a  Glossary  of  Technical  Terms.  8vo, 
Cloth,  $3  50. 

NEWCOMB'S  ASTRONOMY.  Popular  Astronomy.  By  Si- 
mon I^EWCOMD,  LL.D.  With  112  Engravings,  and  5  Maps  of 
the  Stars.  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50;  School  Edition,  12mo,  Cloth, 
$1  SO. 

VAN-LENNEP'S  BIBLE  LANDS.  Bible  Lands:  their  I\Iodern 
Customs  and  Manners  Illustrative  of  Scripture.  By  IIenrt  J. 
Van-Lennei",  D.D.  350  Engravings  and  2  Colored  IMaps. 
8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00  ;  Sheep,  $G  00 ;  Half  Morocco,  $S  00. 

CESNOLA'S  CYPRUS.  Cyprus  :  its  Ancient  Cities, Tombs,  and 
Temples.  A  Narrative  of  Researches  and  E.xcavations  during 
Ten  Years'  Residence  in  that  Island.  By  L.  P.  di  Cesnola. 
With  Portrait,  Maps,  atid  400  Illustrations,  8vo,  Cloth,  Extra, 
Uncut  Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $7  50. 

TENNYSON'S  COMPLETE  POEMS.  The  Complete  Poetical 
Works  of  Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson.  With  an  Introductory  Sketch 
by  Anne  Thackeray  Ritcliie.  With  Portraits  and  Illustrations. 
8yo,  E.xtra  Cloth,  lievelled,  Gilt  Edges,  $2  50. 

SHORTS  NORTH  AMERICANS  OF  ANTIQUITY.  The  North 
Americans  of  Antiquity.  Thoir  Origin,  Migrations,  and  Type 
of  Civilization  Considered.  By  John  T.  Shout,  Illustrated, 
8vo,  Cloth,  $3  00. 

FLAMMARION'S  ATJIOSPHERE.  Translated  from  the  French 
of  Camille  Flammarion.  With  10  Chromo-Lithographs  and 
86  Wood-cuts.      8vo,  Cloth-  .*(;  0!) :   Half  Calf,  $8  25. 


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